


Never Say Never

by negaii



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Culture, Alternate Universe, Barebacking, Cultural Differences, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff and Smut, Friendship, Interspecies Romance, Languages and Linguistics, M/M, Male Pregnancy, Married Couple, Planets, Romance, Telepathic Bond, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-09-13 10:11:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 66,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9119074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/negaii/pseuds/negaii
Summary: Jun and Nino have been in a relationship with each other for the past eight years, living on different planets and only seeing each other once a year. This year is no different… except life can spring tiny surprises sometimes. Now, the two of them will have to have to learn how to deal with this new chapter in their lives together, and how to be with each other again.





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Someone stop me. I don’t need another fic to work on, but here we are! There are a few references from Star Trek that you may notice, but most of it is just me making things up (whether or not it’s influenced by something, I have no idea). This fic is really just about happy and in-love Matsumiya dealing with life together.
> 
> 'This means they're talking mentally.'
> 
> "This means they're talking verbally."

Jun frowned before brushing the dirt off of his uniform.

He had been outside all day, evaluating the new recruits on their physical capabilities. It was the time of year that the Storm Forces took on new recruits, and Jun was in charge of training and testing them, making them into competent rookie soldiers.

This year’s group had potential, the whole lot of them, but there was still a lot of room for improvement. Jun planned to whip them into shape when he got back from his mini vacation. _How did this get on here?_ he thought to himself, tearing his eyes away from the group of soldiers jogging across the field to try to remove the stain from his dark blue uniform. He grimaced at the thought of going into his superior’s office with it. _Can't be helped, I guess._

Jun continued to watch the new recruits run before turning to his vice captain and friend, Shun, who was also watching the group beside him while taking notes on his pad. “Shun, watch them while I’m gone, please. I need to talk to the colonel for a moment.”

Shun nodded, not finding it odd that he had said it out loud instead of mentally, sending him a salute and a beaming grin.

“Yes, sir!” he returned verbally.

Jun thanked his friend before walking back to his office to grab his documentation for his meeting with his superior officer.

As he walked down the corridor, he was greeted by several lower ranking officers in his unit. Giving them nods in return, Jun made his way towards his superior’s office. He finally stopped in front of a door with a nameplate that read:

 

_Colonel Yonekura Ryoko_  
_Battalion 8_  
 _Artillery_

 

Jun knocked on the door twice before a loud enter! answered. He opened the door and stepped inside. Seated at the desk was Colonel Yonekura Ryoko. She was busy reading something on her tablet, her polished nails clacking against the glass screen. Jun loved serving under her.

Ryoko was one of the more “unique” colonels in the army. She hardly ever wore her uniforms (something that got her in trouble a lot with the higher ups), often opting for skin-tight tights or a skirt, paired with high-heeled boots or stilettos. Jun had no idea how she could walk in those, let alone fight in them, but she could, and she could kick people’s asses with her eyes closed (he had seen this firsthand). There was a reason she had one of the most skilled soldiers and captains under her command. Jun both respected and feared her.

Ryoko looked up when Jun walked up to her and gave her a salute. She smiled in greeting, and Jun felt her gently probe at his shields, asking for permission to link with him. Jun stood up straight and took out some paperwork he had prepared for her.

‘Captain Matsumoto, is it that time of year again?’ Ryoko asked, once the shields went down enough for Jun to connect with her. Jun sent her a smile before nodding.

‘Yes, m'am. Permission to take my vacation leave, m'am.' Jun handed him the form with both hands. The superior officer laughed and waved him off like she always did around this time of year.

‘Permission granted. Though, you know, you should really get your significant other to come here more.’

Jun smiled and shook his head. ‘Can't. He's allergic to space travel.’

She let out a loud 'tsk' before placing the form on top of a stack of documents. ‘That's a shame.’

‘It's not too bad,’ Jun told her, ‘it's a gorgeous planet.’

Ryoko nodded. ‘True. A change of scenery is always nice. I wish I could, but it's always busy around this time of year,’ she sighed.

Jun smirked. ‘Good luck with that, Colonel Ryoko.’

She gave him a dismissive gesture. ‘Off you go, Captain Matsumoto. I'll have none of that today.’

Jun chuckled and saluted her. ‘Taking my leave.’

‘Have a nice break.’

 

‘Jun, leaving us again?’

Jun turned around to smirk at his friend, Toma. The taller man grinned at him and threw an arm around his shoulders.

‘What do you mean again? I didn't go last year,’ Jun said amusedly, poking at Toma’s mental shields. Toma laughed and poked back.

‘True, but you always go in August.’

Jun shrugged, jostling Toma’s arm a little. ‘Yeah, well… last year we had a mission to do.’

‘Miss him?’ Toma teased, laughing at Jun when the he let out a grunt mentally between them; Toma felt his friend’s irritation. ‘How cute! And I still haven't seen what became of this Amnosian of yours. The last time I saw him was… seven years ago?’

‘He's changed a lot since then,’ Jun told him, sending him an image of the Nino he remembered two years ago when he had visited him. Toma made a noise of delight.

‘Ah! He doesn't even look different! Are you sure he's not mixed?’

Jun huffed and sent his friend a look of bemusement. ‘I assure you, he's 100 percent Amnosian.’

‘Why doesn't he come visit you more often? Why are you always the one going to him?’ Toma inquired, frowning at his friend. ‘Doesn't seem fair.’

Jun sighed. ‘Nino would if he could. He gets terrible motion sickness and space travel makes him really sick.’

Toma sent him a look of disbelief. ‘How do you get motion sickness in a space ship?’

Jun shrugged. ‘I don't get it either, but it happens. He got really sick the one time we flew somewhere.’

Toma snorted. ‘Still… it seems unfair.’

Jun shook his head, trying to placate his friend. He could feel Toma’s feelings of disappointment. ‘It's fine, Toma. Amnos is a beautiful planet. I don't mind visiting it. It's a nice change from Arashi.’

It really was. While Jun loved his planet, Amnos was gorgeous. Amnos was rich in flora and fauna. The air smelled different compared to Arashi. Arashi was mostly a water-based planet, with lakes, rivers, and seas dominating most of it. The two planets were such polar opposites. Sometimes Jun got tired looking at water when he just wanted to see green instead. He was reminded of Nino’s old home. His lover had just bought a new apartment, and apparently it was located right next to a tulip park. Jun couldn't wait to see it with his own eyes—they didn't have tulips in Arashi.

‘I've only been once,’ Toma admitted truthfully, snapping Jun out of his thoughts. ‘It's a very beautiful planet.’ Jun nodded in agreement. ‘‘Is it true Amnosians don't like communicating through…’ Toma pointed at his temple. Jun nodded.

‘Yeah, they communicate verbally.’

“Like this?” Toma asked, his voice cracking a little from lack of use. Toma didn't speak verbally unless he had to.

“Are you trying to be Amnosian now?” Jun asked, chuckling before Toma let out a loud laugh that rang through his mind.

‘So how do you guys talk? What language do you speak in?’

Jun smiled. ‘A mix of both, but usually we talk to each other verbally. He’s more comfortable with that. He talks in Arashian to me mentally, and we talk in Amnosian verbally.’

Nino didn't mind talking to him when Jun established a mental link with him, but Jun tried not to do it too much. He knew that his lover treasured his privacy, and Jun tried to respect that. There were times when Nino would try to establish a link with him, but it was rare, and Amnosians couldn't do it unless they were physically touching an Arashian, and only if the Amnosian knew how to it. _I hope he's been practicing his mental shields,_ Jun thought to himself absentmindedly, making sure Toma didn't hear that personal thought.

When they turned the corner to his office, Toma patted him on the back.

‘Well, I hope you have fun, Jun. come back to us soon.’

Jun nodded, and grinned at his friend and said teasingly, ‘Miss me already?’

Toma laughed and pulled him in for a hug which Jun gladly returned. ‘Cheeky.’

‘I'll see you in a few weeks,’ Jun said. Toma gave him a two-fingered salute.

‘Yes, sir!’

 

By the end of the day, after Jun said goodbyes to his friends at the military base and to his soldiers (his close friend, Ohno Satoshi, from medical was still pouting at the fact that he wasn't allowed to go too. Jun was positive he wanted to see a special someone in Amnos), he immediately headed home to pack. His ship left tomorrow morning, and Jun needed to make sure that all his belongings were packed and ready for the trip.

Jun grinned when he looked at the framed picture of Nino and him perched on top of his bedside table. It was a favourite memory of his. They had taken it two years ago at a summer festival on Amnos. They were wearing yukatas, one of the traditional clothing of the Amnosians, and Jun was hugging Nino from behind. Both of them were grinning at the camera. Sho, a mutual friend of theirs, had taken the picture for them.

He and Nino had met each other eight years ago, when they had both been 23. At the time, Jun was still finishing up his training in the military as a newly ranked private. One of the requirements to officially become a soldier was to visit another planet and live there for six months—the higher ups wanted their soldiers to be more… “culturally informed.”

Jun didn't really care where he wanted to go. He had decided to choose one of the more peaceful planets, and one where the inhabitants greatly resembled those from his own planet, Arashi. When he had chosen to go to Amnos, a tiny planet where its inhabitants were a non-telepathic race—Jun was fascinated by this. The cultural officer warned him that he might get lonely there.

_‘What do you mean?’ Jun had asked, looking at her in confusion. She shook her head._

_‘Humans, who make up 95% of Amnos’ population, are non-telepathic. While you are able to establish mental links with them, a lot of them won't appreciate it. They're one of the few races that do not take kindly to this fact.’_

_Jun frowned. ‘So you're saying that they don't like talking through mental links?’ She nodded._

_‘Yes. They prefer verbal communication. While it is a very safe planet for our kind to visit, I would like to warn you that it may get a bit lonely when you go, unless you find someone who is willing to communicate with you through a mental link. Otherwise, you better brush up on those verbal communication skills.’_

_‘It sounds very… empty,’ Jun admitted. The cultural officer laughed._

_‘Oh, I very much agree. But one can't judge things if they don't have the experience, eh?’_

Despite her small warning, Jun had still chosen Amnos for the final course of his training. _It's only six months,_ he thought to himself as he boarded the ship. _How bad could it be?_

His first visit to Amnos was when he had first met Nino.

At the time, Nino was working towards finishing up his Masters certification in Languages, and had been assigned to be, and act, as Jun’s guide for the next six months of his stay, acting as his own personal translator and cultural ambassador.

It was both a blessing and a curse because Jun had incredibly mixed feelings about Nino (which eventually blossomed into an eight year old relationship) during those six months together.

Jun’s first impression of Nino was that he was short and skinny, and very cute. He had been shocked when Nino had greeted him in perfect Arashian, not expecting a flawless standard accent to come out of that (pretty) mouth.

“Hello, my name is Ninomiya Kazunari, but you can call me Nino instead!”

Jun blinked and when Nino frowned at him, he had forgotten that he was actually supposed to speak. Clearing his throat, Jun gave the man a bow.

“Nice to meet you,” Jun greeted, “my name is Matsumoto Jun. Thanks for being my guide for the next six months.” Nino grinned up at him in response.

“Not at all.” Jun felt his heart flutter at that gummy smile.

The Amnosian also had a sharp tongue which Jun loved, and the two of them often got into useless arguments and debates about everything and anything under the sun. Eventually, Jun got more comfortable around the smaller man, but he still wasn't sure how the Amnosian felt about _him._ They were friends by then, but Jun wasn't sure if there was anything more that, just because of the way Nino tended to act around him.

According to Nino’s friends that Jun had gotten acquainted with at the time, Nino was generally a handsy person, always hugging or touching people he liked whenever he got the chance. Jun didn't know what it meant when Nino started getting affectionate with him in the second week of his stay.

Jun was aware that Amnosians participated in a lot of casual sex. Back in Arashi, such behaviour wasn't accepted. Arashians mated for life and generally only had sex with those they made mental links with. Jun had never done it—he had made out with a few people in his life, but he had never gone all the way with another person. He didn't have the desire to.

But Nino… there was something about Nino that had drawn Jun to him. Jun had spent a week fretting over his feelings for the Amnosian in the second month of his stay. Jun had never felt like that before—he had never really liked anyone or developed feelings as strong as this with Nino.

But it all came down to what Nino had wanted, and Jun didn't know what Nino wanted.

Jun had been cautious with his feelings. He didn't want to fall so fast for an Amnosian that he had only known for a month and a half. But Nino had been persistent. Persistent and incredibly charming that Jun couldn't help but want to see the man’s face every morning, talk to the man whenever he got the chance, and just be around him. At that point, Jun wished he could create a mental link with Nino to communicate with him the Arashian way, but he remembered his cultural officer’s words very clearly. It was lonely.

The first kiss they shared had happened when they went to a graduate party Nino was invited to. Jun had been finishing up a phone call with his mother, telling her that he had plans to visit the military base later to do some more training when Nino had rushed home that day from class and had handed him an invite.

“Let’s go!” Nino exclaimed, shoving the invite at him. Jun looked down at it warily, before taking it from him.

“Do you think it is a good idea?” he asked rather unsurely, reading the text. Jun had never been to an Amnosian party before, and he honestly had never been to parties back home either, after he had enlisted with the military. There was simply no time. “I am also not a student—”

“So?” Nino asked, pushing himself into Jun’s space on the couch and rested his head on the Arashian’s shoulder. “You can come as my date.”

Jun’s heart skipped a beat. Trying to hide the nervousness in his tone, he cleared his throat and tried to keep his tone normal. “Date?”

Nino nodded slowly, snuggling closer to him, not seemingly aware of Jun’s rise in body temperature. “Hmm. If you want to come. If you don’t, it's fine. We can always stay home and play Mario Kart.”

“I do not know if you should base your decisions on me,” Jun remarked.

“Hmm… we’re friendly with each other aren't we? So what do you say?” Nino asked sleepily.

Jun felt hollow inside. He should've known. Friendly meant platonic. He swallowed the mess that was his feelings down.

“Sure, I will go.”

When the day of the event arrived, Jun came to the conclusion that Amnosian parties were loud. Very loud. He frowned when a girl from across the room let out a loud shriek before downing her beer. There were cheers and applause around her.

 _How undignified,_ Jun thought to himself with a shake of his head. Beside him, Nino was nursing his own beer, talking to a university classmate about Kanjanese slangs. Truthfully, Jun was bored. He had only been here for an hour, but he was already bored out of his mind. He hardly knew anyone except for Nino’s close friends, Aiba and Sho, and they were missing. Jun sighed and took another swig of his beer. Even the beers were bad. _There's hardly any alcohol,_ Jun thought with a frown.

Suddenly, a hand touched him on the shoulder, making him jump. “Ah, sorry!” Nino apologized, lifting his hand off for a moment before putting it back. “Why are you sighing over here?”

“It is nothing,” Jun replied immediately, cursing himself for letting his emotions show.

“You know,” Nino said, poking him on the side with his finger, making Jun yelp in surprise. Nino snickered and rubbed the spot tenderly in apology. Jun clenched his fingers around the bottle of beer tightly. What was Nino doing? “You don't have to speak so formally.”

“What do you mean?” Jun asked, giving him a look of confusion. Nino shook his head.

“Exactly what I mean. You don't have to be so formal all the time, at least not with me. But if you prefer to be, that's fine.” Nino shrugged at him.

Jun was still confused. “I still do not get it.”

Nino snapped his fingers and pointed at him. “That! Contractions! It's fine to use them.”

“Oh. I did not realize I used it so often… I am not very confident in speaking Amnosian.”

Nino shook his head. “Your Amnosian is fine. I'm just saying you can use contractions more often.”

“Is it bad if I do not?” Jun asked worriedly.

“No, but it's very stiff and awkward sometimes. Amnosians regularly use contractions in everyday speech,” Nino explained not unkindly.

Jun nodded seriously. “I will try—I’ll try to remember that…?” he replied unsurely.

Nino grinned and gave him a thumbs up. “You're doing great already! But like I said before, we can talk in Arashian too, I don't mind.”

 _But I do,_ Jun thought, not wanting to think about how husky Nino’s voice got when he spoke the language of his kind. Plus, it was a turn on for Jun to hear Nino speak his native language so fluently. He grimaced. He really needed to keep his feelings for the Amnosian man under control.

“No, Amnosian is fine,” Jun replied, “it helps me learn the language more.” Nino nodded before taking a drink of his own beer bottle before turning back to him.

“So, how's the party?” Nino asked

Jun frowned and took another swig of his beer. “It is… I would rather go home,” he said truthfully.

Nino beamed. “So glad you said that, because I would too! Let's go.”

“But what about Sakurai-kun and Aiba-kun?” Jun asked, letting himself be pulled up to a stand by the smaller man.

“I’ll send them a message later. They won’t miss us,” Nino replied, still holding Jun’s hand while he pulled them towards the front door. Jun tried to not let it affect him. Nino’s hands were small and soft, and cute (even though Nino often complained about his hands).

They walked home together, holding hands the entire time. To Jun, it felt like they were on a date. Nino was leaning on him as they walked. They made small talk, conversing about their favourite foods they liked to eat. When they arrived home, Nino continued to hold his hand, even when he struggled to get his house card out to let them in.

They only broke apart to take off their shoes. Jun stood at the doorway awkwardly, not knowing what to do as he watched Nino place his shoes on the rack neatly. When he was done, he smiled at him.

“Are you hungry?” Nino asked, grabbing his hand and pulling them over to the kitchen. He let go when he went over to the fridge.

“Not really,” Jun said, watching Nino look into the fridge for food. “I think the food at the party was enough.”

Nino spun around in surprise. “You ate?”

“Yeah, I had a plate of chips.”

Nino tsked and and shut the fridge door. “That’s not enough.”

“Says the one who hardly eats,” Jun retorted back playfully. Nino grinned, and Jun felt his heart skip a beat at that smile.

“You got me there,” Nino said, laughing. “Let’s play video games then, if you’re not hungry!”

“Sure.” Jun liked that Nino didn't try to push. He followed the man out to the living room where Nino powered up his console.

They sat next to each other on the couch, just enjoying each other’s company and the game. They were playing one of Nino’s action games, and he had enlisted Jun’s help for the final boss. _“Because there's no way I can beat it by myself.”_

Jun had seen him play this particular level for the past week or so, and Nino had cursed each time he played and _lost_. Apparently it was too difficult.

With two people, it was a lot easier than Nino had assumed (easier than if it was with only one person at least).

When the boss was finally defeated (it took them three tries), Nino stared at the screen in disbelief. Jun laughed and put the controller down beside him. He wiggled his fingers to get the feeling back in them after holding the controller for two hours.

“So shocked?” Jun asked teasingly as he poked Nino in the side, causing the small Amnosian to jump in surprise.

“I can't… I can't believe we did it…” Nino said in disbelief, his eyes wide as he stared at the ending credits of the game. Jun snorted and leaned back against the couch.

“There was two of us. Of course we could do it.” Jun crossed his arms behind his head.

Nino looked at him for a moment before scooting closer on the couch. He looked up at him in contemplation.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Jun asked, feeling his body heat up at the close proximity. He could feel himself blushing but he refused to look away—it would be too obvious.

Nino let out a small _hmm._ He leaned in close to Jun, looking directly in his eyes. They stared at each other for a minute before Jun averted his gaze. What was Nino trying to do?

He felt hands on his chin, tilting his face back up so he met Nino’s eyes.

“Jun,” Nino said, looking at him. Jun tensed when he heard Nino switch to Arashian, the sound going straight to his cock. “Let me know if this is okay.” Jun blinked before he got an armful of Nino.

That had been their first kiss. It wasn't special as far as first kisses went, but it was a memory Jun would treasure forever.

Jun had kissed Nino back, and the rest was … history? They didn't exactly talk about their feelings, but Jun knew Nino was at least attracted to him very much.

But at that point, Jun didn't know if this was a fling for Nino or not. Jun just tried to to go with the flow.

When they finally made the first move to have sex, Jun had been extremely hesitant.

Fearing retribution and disgust from Nino, Jun tried to hide _that_ part of himself. He dominated their sex life for the most part, and never allowed Nino’s hands or penis to wander too much or too close. It was hard. Nino was curious sexually, and he often tried to turn the tables on him, but Jun never let him. Jun thanked his lucky stars that Nino lacked physical strength.

Unfortunately, what he lacked in physical strength, he made up for other things. Jun could tell Nino was starting to get annoyed and confused about how closed off Jun got sometimes when they had sex. While Nino had no problems letting Jun fuck him, he was confused about why Jun never seemed to want to receive the same treatment. Jun almost wanted to lie about it, but Nino was knowledgeable about Arashians, and Arashians basically looked the same as Amnosians (except for the coloured eyes that many of the people in Amnos didn't have. Jun's eyes were purple).

Jun remembered the _very_ first time Nino had learned about Jun’s unique Arashian biology. It had been a scary experience. Jun knew that Amnosians placed rather strict views on sex and gender roles. That was the one thing that really stuck out to him when he went for a medical check up before leaving for Amnos.

_‘Trainee Matsumoto,’ the doctor said, when Jun was buttoning up his shirt. Jun looked up._

_‘Yes, doctor?’_

_The doctor looked hesitant, and that worried Jun. Was there something wrong?_

_‘A word of advice,’ she said with a frown. ‘As you know, you are capable of giving birth.’ Jun nodded. She sighed and patted him on the shoulder. ‘The Amnosians… they have two sexes, male and female, much like ours, but they aren’t as fluid with the terms as we are. Be wary of who you reveal this information to.’_

_‘What happens if I do?’_

_The doctor shook her head. ‘Some Amnosians are not nice with things that are different from them. Some of them are open-minded and accepting. If you do… participate in copulation, be careful of who you reveal this fact to.’_

So Jun tried his best to hide the fact that he was different. He wasn't exactly different back in Arashi—his planet placed no emphasis on gender like Amnos did, and the different “sexes” had the potential to give birth. But the conversation had worried him, especially when he and Nino started sleeping together. How would Nino even react to that?

One night, when they had gotten back from a night out with Sho and Aiba at a local bar, Jun and Nino had somehow ended up in Jun’s bedroom, locked in a heated makeout session on his bed.

Nino was lying on top of him, tongue battling for dominance as his hands began to grope him all over. Jun sighed, letting his own hands slip to the curve of Nino’s ass, firmly squeezing his cheeks and kneading them with his hands.

“Jun…” Nino sighed, letting his hand wander down to the front of Jun’s pants, unbuttoning them quickly. “I want to fuck you.” Upon hearing those words, Jun immediately stiffened and reached in front of him to grab Nino’s wrists. Nino looked at him in confusion.

Jun shook his head nervously. Nino sighed and pushed himself up and pulled his hands away. He got off of Jun and crossed his arms. Jun pushed himself up to sit beside him, avoiding Nino’s eyes. _I fucked up, I fucked up,_ he told himself repeatedly when Nino didn't say anything. The room was quiet.

Finally, Jun moved to get off the bed. The silence was too awkward for him to bear. He was immediately stopped when Nino grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

“Where are you going?” Nino asked in confusion. Jun allowed himself to be pulled back against the Amnosian.

“I-I thought you didn't—”

“Jun, we need to talk,” Nino said in frustration pulling Jun to sit in front of him. He moved to kneel on his knees and raised a hand to rest on Jun’s cheek. “Are you okay? Do I make you uncomfortable?” he asked worriedly.

Jun shook his head frantically. “No!” he denied immediately. “Of course not!”

Nino let out a small sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness.” He frowned. “I just assumed because you never…”

“No,” Jun said sternly. “You have never made me uncomfortable. I promise.”

Nino raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, clearly I have because you just freaked out a few minutes ago.”

Jun purses his lips. “That…” he began hesitantly, “that was different…”

Nino grimaced and crossed his arms. “Jun, what's up? Is there something you're hiding from me, or something I need to know? I promise I won't try to… touch you down there again…?” he said unsurely, “but I need you to let me know. You haven't exactly said anything to me.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Jun denied. Nino sighed.

“Jun, don't think I haven't noticed, because I do. There's one thing that has been on my mind for the longest time: you are _never_ naked when we fuck. And that's the other thing, you are always the one fucking me. Not that I mind,” Nino added hastily, “because you're amazing. But I do like to switch things up from time to time. And I haven't said anything on this either, but I do like oral sex too, and I want to try, with you.” Nino took a deep breath and looked at him nervously.

This was a lot for Jun to take in. He looked down at Nino, the other man had his arms wrapped around himself. He was looking down at the bed, his mouth pulled into a frown. Jun sighed. He should have known that this wasn't something he could keep quiet about if he was sleeping with Nino. Realizing that this was a decision that he needed to make, Jun thought for a moment.

There were two scenarios that could happen if he told Nino about his… biology.

The first scenario would have Nino being disgusted with him. Jun hoped this one wouldn't happen. He didn't think he could stay another four months with Nino if the man decided to avoid him. Jun was greatly captivated with Nino.

The second scenario would be more ideal, and one that Jun hoped would be the case. Nino would find out about him and accept it. _Why does it seem impossible?_ Jun thought to himself nervously as he looked at him. Nino was looking back at him, his brow furrowed. _Well, I can't avoid it any longer…_

“There's… there's something you need to know about me,” Jun began nervously. “I haven't… I haven't told you about this…”

Nino reached for his hand. “What is it, Jun? You can tell me.” Jun met his gaze for a few moments before sighing and looking away. Nino tugged on his hand. “...Jun?”

“In… in my planet,” Jun began hesitantly, “we don't have strict gender roles like Amnosians do.” He could see Nino nod from the corner or his eye.

“Yes, I know about that. Did I offend you?” Nino asked. Jun shook his head.

“No. that… it relates to what I'm trying to tell you…”

“You can tell me,” Nino said gently. It almost made Jun believe that everything was going to be okay.

“I…” Jun gulped. He looked back at Nino who had nothing but patience and kindness in his eyes. It gave him courage. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I can bear children.”

 _You could definitely hear a pin drop,_ Jun thought, his eyes still shut. He could feel Nino’s grip on him loosen and Jun tried not to panic. _He's just surprised, he's just surprised,_ he chanted to himself. _He's not disgusted with you._ He could hear Nino shuffling in front of him. Taking a deep breath again, Jun opened his eyes.

Nino was sitting in front of him, staring at him with wide eyes. His mouth was open in a small ‘O’ and he looked like he was having trouble comprehending this. He didn't seem disgusted though, and that gave Jun some hope.

“Ni… no?” Jun asked unsurely, careful to not startle him. Nino snapped his gaze to meet his.

“You can get pregnant?” Nino asked faintly. Jun nodded. “Oh. So that's why…”

Jun shrugged. “I know it wouldn't matter much if I never told you, but…” he bit his lips nervously. “I like you a lot, Nino, and I didn't want to lie to you.”

Nino blinked owlishly at him. Jun averted his gaze to his lap. That was more than he had intended to say, and it was true what he told Nino. In the long run, it wouldn't have mattered if Jun never told him, but Jun didn't want their relationship to end, even after he was done his assignment. Jun wanted the relationship to continue after that.

“You… you like me that much?” Nino whispered. Jun nodded, still not meeting his gaze. Jun sneaked a glance at him and saw that Nino was looking back st him in wonder. That was good, right?

“Yeah. I didn't want to lie.”

“I… wow.” Nino said in disbelief. “So wait.” He sat up straight and looked at Jun in the eye. “Does this mean that you like…”

Jun blushed and averted his gaze. “I like you, Nino. I like you a lot.” Jun heard Nino let out a huff before he found himself with enveloped in a hug.

“I like you too,” Nino mumbled into his chest. Jun couldn't help the grin that appeared on his lips. He returned the hug wholeheartedly, enjoying the feeling of having Nino in his arms. When they pulled apart, Nino had an an intrigued look on his face. “So wait, about the pregnancy thing…”

Jun pulled them both on the bed so that they were lying down next to each other. “What do you want to know?” he asked. “I'll answer any of your questions.”

Nino scratched his neck before meeting Jun’s gaze. “How do you get pregnant?”

Jun snorted. “How do you think women get pregnant here?”

“So you have to be… penetrated for it to happen?” Nino asked in bewilderment. “Is that why you didn't let me—”

“Well, yes and no,” Jun said. “Unlike the ‘female’ version of my species, the ‘males’ have seasons for when we can get pregnant.”

“Wow,” Nino said. “So, when's yours, if you don't mind me asking?” He looked completely fascinated with the entire idea.

“I usually get mine near the end of summer,” Jun answered. Nino piqued up.

“Like around late August or September?”

Jun nodded and tried to hide a smile as Nino inched closer to him.

“Okay,” Nino said, nodding to himself as he met Jun’s gaze. “That works. We can just avoid you getting penetrated around that time… if you are okay with being….” Nino trailed off, looking unsure.

Jun chuckled and pulled Nino closer to him. “Yes, I'm okay with that.” He felt butterflies in his stomach—Nino had accepted him so easily.

Nino grinned and sat up. “Great! So let's do it now—oof!”

Jun shot up and pushed Nino down on the bed. Grinning down mischievously at him, he straddled the Amnosian’s waist. “Hmm… maybe later. But, I will have you first.” He leaned down to capture Nino’s lips with his own.

 

Jun snapped out of his reminiscing. He had to pack or else he would be cursing himself for procrastinating tomorrow. He smiled at the picture again, suddenly feeling the urge to call Nino after thinking about their beginnings.

After all the ups and downs they had, they were finally at a good place. It hadn't been easy in the beginning. A long distance relationship was something Jun had never really considered, but for Nino, he would do it. He sometimes wished Nino was able to visit him more often, but he knew firsthand how Nino was when he got on a ship. He had been so worried the first time Nino stepped off the ship looking like the dead. Jun had immediately dragged him home and put him to bed after forcing him to take a few pills for nausea.

After that one incident when Nino had travelled to Arashi, Jun had decided that he would be the one to go to Nino. Seeing his lover absolutely sick and miserable tugged at his heartstrings. He didn't want to make Nino go through all that trouble for him, especially if seeing Nino in Amnos wasn't much trouble at all for him.

So that was what they did. And they had done it for the past eight years. This year was no different, except Jun missed him more. Jun was unable to visit Amnos last year due to work, so he was definitely going to make it up to Nino when he was going to see him tomorrow.

Realizing that Nino was probably still up (he always was. Jun often scolded him about his sleeping habits), Jun decided to give him a call. It was evening for Nino in Amnos; the two planets had a six hour difference. Jun smiled absentmindedly when his lover’s nasal voice reverberated throughout the room.

“It's Jun!” Nino greeted in Arashian, laughing. “We’ve only just talked to each other this morning.”

“I know,” Jun replied, grinning down at his communications device. “I missed you though.”

“You always say that.” But Jun knew that Nino was delighted to hear that from him. “All good?”

“Yeah, I’m leaving tomorrow morning.”

“That's good. So you’ll arrive here in the evening then.”

Jun nodded. “Yeah.”

“Wonderful! I'll ask if I can get off work early to come pick you up!” Nino said cheerfully.

“If it's not too much trouble,” Jun warned. He heard Nino snicker on the other end of the line, making him smile at how childish it made the 31 year old man sound.

“For you? Anything. Now go to sleep, or you'll be cranky in the morning. I know how you are,” Nino teased.

“Yes, Kazu,” Jun said, rolling his eyes fondly.

“I’ll see you soon, J,” Nino said warmly, “I love you.”

Jun grinned. Hearing Nino those words from Nino never got old for him. “I love you too.”

Nino laughed in delight. “Of course you do! Good night.”

“Good night.”

When Jun hung up the call, he still had a large grin on his face. He couldn't wait to see Nino again.


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To clarify, when Nino and Jun are speaking to each other verbally, it’s usually Amnosian they’re speaking in. When they speak mentally, they’re talking in Jun’s language. Sometimes they switch it up, but that is generally the case.
> 
> ‘This means they’re speaking mentally.’  
> “This means they’re speaking verbally.”

Nino grinned to himself absentmindedly as he ended the call.

 _Let's hope he actually gets some sleep tonight,_ Nino thought as he turned his attention back to the documents in front of him.

It was a document in Kanjanese that was about travelling rights and procedures to and from Amnos and Kanjani. Nino had been working on it for most of the day, translating bits and pieces of it as he also worked on other translations for the government office.

Nino smiled when he thought back to his conversation with Jun. He missed him a lot. They were unable to meet up with each other last year due to the military work that Jun had to do in Arashi. Now that he was going to see him tomorrow, Nino couldn't wait.

 _It's been too long,_ Nino thought as he began scanning the documents again. He couldn't contain the feeling of excitement he was getting at the thought. He was finally going to see Jun again.

He scanned his apartment. He had just moved into the new place about a month ago, after getting a decent pay raise for his work in the Tokio and Amnos relations. His old apartment had been decent, but Nino had always wanted to live a little closer to the centre of the city. It was expensive, but the location was worth it. Work was much easier to get to now, and his new apartment was right next to a park. When Nino had told Jun about that, his partner had gotten so excited about the prospect of the park. Jun really did love nature—whenever he visited, he would always demand Nino to take him to national parks for sightseeing.

There were still a lot of boxes to be unpacked, but work had gotten extremely busy in the past month and he didn't have the time to get to them. When Jun arrived tomorrow, hopefully he could get his partner to help him with them. Jun was good at organization.

 _Which reminds me,_ Nino thought, tapping his pen against his jaw. _I need to stock up on some condoms and lubes._ Those were definitely important when Jun came to visit. Even though they were definitely devoted to each other, it was always good to be careful. Truthfully, it was only Nino who really cared about using protection. Jun never took him with condoms on (a fact he did not mind), but Nino didn’t want to take Jun without one, especially when his partner tended to visit him closer to the “season.”

While Jun’s season for getting pregnant was in the late summer to early fall, he often left Amnos before that. Still, Nino wanted to be careful. Jun just accepted his reasoning with a roll of his eyes and a pat on the head. He was pretty confident Nino couldn’t get him pregnant, but Nino was adamant about using protection for the few times he took Jun.

Their relationship was pretty equal on that front for the most part. Jun tended to take Nino more often, and that was only because Nino got tired quicker. Why do extra work when you can lie back and let your enthusiastic and _very_ strong partner do the work for you? _Sex is more enjoyable that way for sure,_ Nino thought with a nod.

When Jun had first told him about his ability to conceive, Nino had been surprised. Studying languages, he was exposed to many different cultures of the other planets. He knew that some planets were definitely more progressive and _alien_ to Amnos, so he wasn’t _too_ shocked when Jun told him he was capable of getting pregnant. Of course, he was still stunned when Jun told him, but he got over that part pretty quickly. It was more of Jun’s love confession that had him bewildered.

Nino remembered that moment very well. It had been easy to fall in love with Jun. When he had first met the Arashian, Nino’s first thought was that he was incredibly good-looking. He didn’t expect for Jun to be so likeable though. He laughed at Nino’s jokes, he enjoyed playing video games, and he got along well with his friends. It was hard to not fall for Jun. Fast.

Nino had been trying to send signals he liked Jun, but the Arashian was so oblivious. He had been so relieved when he finally took the first step and kissed him, his heart almost burst out of his chest when Jun kissed him back.

Of course, he had some second thoughts about their relationship. But when Jun suggested they entered a long-distance relationship, Nino knew he would do it. He liked Jun way too much to give him up. And here they were, eight years later, in a serious relationship. It amazed him sometimes how he and Jun had managed to make it work for so long. _We must be doing something right,_ he thought with a chuckle.

Turning back to his papers, Nino let out a sigh. _One more day,_ he thought to himself as he looked down at the characters on the page. _One more day until Jun is here._

 

The next morning, Nino was heading to work earlier than usual. After staying up late to finish the rest of the translations, Nino was exhausted. He really wanted to go back home and curl up in his bed and sleep for a good ten hours.

“Good morning, Nino-chan!”

Nino turned around and saw his best friend, Aiba Masaki, making his way towards him with his usual cheery grin.

“Masaki,” Nino said with a sigh. “It's too early today.”

Aiba laughed and threw an arm around Nino’s shoulders. “It's only eight in the morning, Nino!”

“Exactly,” he grumbled, “it’s too early.”

“Why were you up so late?” Aiba asked as they made their way down the hall. They passed the immigrations office where they saw their other friend, Sakurai Sho, giving out orders to his staff. Sho spotted them and gave them a wave. Aiba waved back enthusiastically, while Nino gave a weak smile in response.

“Finishing up some the treaty with Kanjani,” Nino replied with a yawn, turning back to Aiba.

“Didn't you say that wasn't supposed to be finished until the _weekend?_ ”

“Yeah, but Jun’s coming today and I rather not have to work on that while he's here.”

Aiba gasped and spun Nino around and placed both hands on his friend’s shoulders. “Jun-kun is coming?!”

Nino looked at him warily. “Yes…?”

“Why didn't you say so?! He didn't come last year!”

Nino rolled his eyes and tried to push his friend’s hands off his shoulders. “He was busy with work. Why are you so excited?” he asked in confusion.

Aiba looked at him in bewilderment. “Why wouldn't I be? Jun-kun is coming! You were pretty sulky last year.”

“No I wasn't,” Nino immediately denied.

Aiba chuckled and they continued moving down the hall. “Sure, sure. Whatever you say, Nino-chan.”

“Don't call me that,” Nino grumbled. “Anyway, shouldn't you be working?”

“I'm taking a break,” Aiba explained as they entered Nino’s office.

“At… eight in the morning?”

“Of course!” He gave him a cheeky grin.

“So you're here to bother me?” Nino grumbled.

“Sure,” Aiba replied, throwing himself down on the sofa.

“How lovely,” Nino said sarcastically but moved to sit down at his desk. Aiba grinned and laid down on the couch.

“You must be really excited he's coming. He's going to see your new apartment too!”

“He is,” Nino said, looking at him from the desk.

“You don't seem that excited. Are you nervous?”

Nino shrugged. “Why would I be nervous?”

Aiba shook his head. “You should be excited! Jun-kun’s finally coming!”

“I'm happy he is, but why do I need to make a big deal out of it?”

Aiba rolled his eyes and got up from the couch. “Because your partner is finally coming. Don't you miss him?”

Nino furrowed his brows. “Of course I do.”

“So you should be excited he's coming!” Aiba exclaimed. Aiba poked Nino on the cheek, ignoring his friend’s protests. “Seriously, you act like you don't care at all.”

Nino glared at him. “That's not true!” he cried and slapped Aiba’s hand away before turning back to his documents. “Are you just here to bother me?” He scowled.

Aiba frowned at him. “Are you… are you nervous?” he asked in surprise. Nino ignored him in favour of his work. Aiba gasped. “You are! You actually are! But why are you?”

Nino glared at him. “I'm not nervous,” he hissed. Aiba rolled his eyes and poked Nino on the cheek again. “Would you stop that?!”

“You’re avoiding the subject, you don't look at me when you're talking, and you're not as enthusiastic as you usually are about Jun-kun coming,” Aiba said. “You're definitely nervous.”

Nino sighed. He could never hide things from his best friend. Aiba knew him too well. “Okay, fine. I am.” Aiba nodded as if he'd figured out one of the mysteries of the universe.

“I thought so. But why?”

Nino shrugged. “I don't know. Maybe it's because we didn't see each other last year? I don't know why I'm nervous.”

“You guys spoke on the phone, right?”

Nino nodded. “For the most part yeah, but not when he was on his mission. We were out of contact with each other for half a year. That was in the last part of the year.”

Aiba pulled Nino in for a hug. Nino let out weak protests but allowed himself to be held by his friend. “It's okay, Nino-chan! Nothing to worry about! Jun-kun still loves you as much as he did when you guys first began dating. I've seen how you guys are with each other, and you guys are never going to break apart.”

Nino snorted and rearranged himself so that he was resting his head on Aiba’s shoulders. “And how are you so sure about that?”

Aiba patted Nino on the back. “Trust me, Aiba Masaki just knows. Whatever comes your way, both of you can overcome it!”

Nino made a ‘hmm’ noise. They stayed like that, just enjoying each other’s company when a thought struck Nino. Grinning, he lifted his head to rest his chin on Aiba’s shoulder and said teasingly, “So how are you and Oh-chan coming along~?” He watched in amusement as Aiba’s complexion turned pink and the other man coughed to hide his embarrassment.

“What are you talking about?” Aiba asked, avoiding Nino’s stare. “We’re just…” he trailed off with a frown. Nino blinked and sat up and looked at his friend in concern.

“You’re…?”

Aiba shook his head and sighed. “We’re nothing. We just enjoy each other’s company.”

Nino rolled his eyes. “Honestly. I don't know why you two are making it so complicated. Just make it official already!”

“It's not as easy as you think!”

Nino sent him an exasperated look. “How? From what I know, I think you really like him, Masaki.”

Aiba pouted. “I do, but—”

“Then what is the problem?” Nino furrowed his brows at him. He watched as his best friend struggled to find a reply to that.

Aiba was the diplomat for the second quadrant of the space system. This meant that Aiba dealt with a lot of international relations for the the planets that were assigned to him. Nino rarely got to see his friend for more than a few days at a time, since his friend was always going off to another planet to deal with any cultural issues or situations that would arise with Amnos. Like Nino, he spoke more than two languages. However, Nino was able to speak five languages fluently and three others conversationally. Aiba’s knowledge of the languages in his quadrant wasn’t as extensive. Sometimes, Nino had to help translate documents for his friend, or went with Aiba as an interpreter on his missions. Nino didn’t mind— he preferred that than looking at documents all day.

Nino eyed his friend carefully. For the past two years or so, Aiba had been in contact with an Arashian named Ohno Satoshi. Ohno was a friend of Jun’s that he had introduced when Aiba came to visit the planet back then. Since Jun wasn’t able to show Aiba around as much as he liked, he had introduced him to Ohno, who had been working in the embassy’s medical office at the time.

 _Masaki is really smitten with Ohno,_ Nino thought as his friend began fidgeting with his portable device. From what he knew, the two of them were sleeping together whenever Aiba went to Arashi for work, and stayed over at Ohno’s place. Nino and Jun had been so sure that the two would get together officially after several months, but they hadn’t made any move towards that step. He had tried asking Aiba about it, but the guy didn’t seem to know either. Nino didn’t understand. It was clear that the two of them liked each other a lot, so why didn’t they? Jun had pointed out that maybe they didn’t want to do the long distance thing. Nino had looked at his lover in disbelief.

_“We have a much harder time being together because of your job. I don’t see how they can’t?”_

_Jun shrugged. “What works for us may not work for them,” he said simply. “Also, I think Aiba-kun’s job makes it harder.”_

_“He travels, I get that. But you're military,” Nino pointed out._

_Jun snorted and poked Nino in the side. “Yeah, but I come home everyday. Aiba-kun doesn't.” He gave Nino an amused look. “We definitely have it easier. But you choosing not to travel—”_

_“Alright! Alright! I get it!” Nino scowled, not wanting to talk about his weakness of space travel. “I am the reason—”_

_“Kazu, I know how you are with space travel, I don't mind. I wish things could be different but…” Jun wrapped his arms around him and nuzzled the top of his head._

_“I just want Masaki and Ohno-kun to be happy,” Nino said with a pout. He felt Jun nod._

_“You and me both. But it’s their relationship. Not much we could do.”_

_It’s frustrating,_ Nino thought as he furrowed his brow. He wanted Aiba to be happy, and he knew that being with Ohno made Aiba happy. His friend always smiled whenever he spoke of Ohno, the fondness in his tone hard to miss. Jun had told him that Ohno really liked Aiba too. _So what is the problem?!_ Nino thought in exasperation. For now, he would stay out of it and let the two deal with whatever they were doing. If Aiba needed his opinion, Nino would give it then.

Finally, Aiba pocketed his device and stood up, smoothing down his blazer. “I gotta go. See you, Kazu-kun!”

Nino gave him a wave without looking. When the door closed behind Aiba, he looked at his documents and let out a long sigh. Just the same thing everyday.

 

When lunch rolled around, Nino decided to go bother Sho. He walked down the halls to the Immigrations department. Sho worked as a senior immigrations officer. Since Amnos was a popular planet and many other life forms loved the peaceful and naturally beautiful planet, there were a lot of applications requesting to move to the planet everyday. Sho worked with a team of five other people in his department for the second quadrant immigrations.

Sho didn’t actually deal with the initial part of the applications. He (and another coworker) was the one who made the final decision after his subordinates had checked the applications and screened them. Sho received the applications when they were cleared and made the decision on whether they were able to live in Amnos. It seemed like an easy job, but Nino knew it was quite a tiring one. Before Sho had adopted his two children, he would pull a lot of overtime for work, the applications piled up constantly. The overtime affected his relationship with his husband, Okada Junichi. But when Sho realized he couldn’t pull the same hours when he became a father, he began to schedule his work hours differently. Nino admired that. Sho and Okada seemed very happy now.

When Nino reached his friend’s office, Sho was already eating lunch… while looking at papers. Nino shook his head fondly in exasperation at the sight. _Typical Sho-chan,_ he thought. He knocked gently on the door.

Sho snapped his head up in surprise before his mouth spread into a wide grin. “Hi Nino!” he greeted. Nino smirked and stepped into the office. “Have you eaten?”

“No, not yet.” Nino took a seat in front of him. Sho frowned and looked down at his massive bento box before turning back to Nino.

“Did you want some? I have an extra pair of chopsticks in my drawer,” Sho offered kindly. Nino shrugged. Taking that as a yes, Sho opened his side drawer and handed Nino a pair of wooden chopsticks. “You don’t eat enough,” he scolded gently, pushing the bento closer to Nino.

“You say that everytime I visit you for lunch,” Nino said with a snort, picking up a piece of egg. “Did Okada-kun make this?”

Sho nodded. “Yep. You know I’m not the greatest cook, Nino.”

Nino laughed. “Poor kids. Well, at least one of their dads knows his way around the kitchen.”

Sho pouted. “Hey! I try!”

“It’s okay, Sho-chan. At least no one got food poisoning yet.” He snickered when Sho sent him a death glare. Nino grinned before picking up a piece of fried chicken.

“So I heard from Masaki that Jun-kun is coming tomorrow,” Sho said after they finished lunch. Nino watched as Sho began packing up the boxes to put in his bag.

“Does one not have any privacy around here?” he whined. “But yes, he is.”

Sho nodded, sending him a soft smile. “That’s nice. You were pretty sulky last year when he didn’t visit.”

“Was not!”

“Okay, Nino,” Sho said, typing the strings of the bag up before placing it on the floor beside him. “You weren't.”

“I know you’re mocking me. I’m telling Okada-kun!” Nino said, wagging his finger at him.

“Go ahead,” Sho said with a chuckle, “he’ll just agree with me.”

“Was I really like that?” Nino wondered, trying to remember last year.

Sho shrugged and straightened out the papers on his desk. “You were just restless. It must be hard for you.”

“I’m used to it.”

“I guess. Have you thought about the future?” Sho asked, placing the papers aside to look at Nino with his full attention. “I don’t want to dictate how you guys should run your relationship, but have you guys talked about your plans for the future?”

Nino leaned forward and rested his chin on his arms. He wished he could say yes, but they haven’t talked about it in a really long time. The last time was probably three years ago, but it had been a brief topic in their conversations. Nino didn’t exactly know what they would do once they reached a certain age— he was sure Jun didn’t either.

“No, not really,” Nino said finally. “We don’t really talk about it.”

“At all?” Sho asked with a frown.

“We talked about it before… but…” Nino shrugged. “It hasn’t come up since then.”

“You guys are both 31 years old now—”

“Jun’s still 30,” Nino interrupted, “his birthday is in late August.”

Sho rolled his eyes. “Okay, you guys are both 31 _this_ year, surely you guys have a plan for the future?”

“It’s working out now, why change something that doesn’t need to be changed?” Nino asked, getting annoyed.

“Woah!” Sho said, putting both his hands up a truce. “Like I said, it’s not my place to dictate what you guys do with your relationship…” He gave Nino a sympathetic look. “But, Nino, do you really want to do this for the rest of your life?”

“Well.. no…” he admitted truthfully after a moment. Sho shook his head.

“It's fine now since you're both young, but what if when you're older? Do you guys plan to have kids?” Sho asked curiously. “How would that even happen?”

Nino pursed his lips. He had never told his friends about Jun’s ability to conceive, even though Jun had never forbade him or told him to keep it a secret. Nino believed that type of information was up to Jun to tell people personally, so he never spoke about it to his friends. He vaguely wondered if Ohno told Aiba about it. Surely he would have if they were sleeping together for that long? He wondered if Ohno himself was capable of conceiving.

Nino had talked to Jun once about children three years into their relationship. Both of them didn't really have an opinion on children at the time, both agreeing they should talk about the subject again at a later date, when they were pretty established in their careers. That was the _only_ time the subject was brought up. Nino could say they were pretty established now, but the topic had never really popped up again in their conversations.

“We never talked about that either…” Nino finally replied with a frown. Now that Sho brought it up, they never actually really talked much about the big stuff. Nino thought that both he and Jun took their relationship day by day—they never really talked about the future.

“Well, you don't have to have children if you don’t want to,” Sho remarked, fiddling with his pen. “But maybe you guys should talk about the future? Maybe what you guys want to do five years from now?” he suggested lightly.

Nino looked down at the desk, his mind replaying Sho’s words.

 

When four in the afternoon rolled around, Nino headed to his superior’s office to request an early leave. Fortunately, it wasn’t hard to get the day off early, especially with his recent work performance and the fact that he could do most of his work from home anyway. When he received permission, Nino went home to get ready.

After showering, Nino drove to the Amnos’ International Terminal Station. On the way, he stopped by to grab some rice balls before proceeding to the station. Since he wasn't going to be able to get a proper dinner, he had to buy something to eat while he waited for Jun to arrive in Amnos.

Making his way to the third terminal, Nino took a seat near the Arrivals area. He checked his watch: Jun would arrive in a couple more hours. Settling back against the chair, Nino munched on the rice ball as he watched people walk by in front of him.

After he had left Sho’s office, he had thought about Sho’s words for the rest of the day. Nino knew his friend was right. Even if things between Jun and him were okay now, were they going to do this long-distance thing forever? Nino knew that he loved Jun very much, knew that he would never leave Jun unless his partner broke up with him (the thought made his heart clench).

But truthfully, he was starting to get tired. After Jun’s absence last year, Nino realized that he missed his partner more. They talked on the phone daily, until Jun had to leave for his mission. Nino felt the absence greatly. What if they were unable to contact each other one day? It was highly unlikely that would happen, but Nino feared that the most.

 _No use worrying about it now,_ he thought with a frown. _Not when Jun is coming soon._ He bit into his rice ball. Right, he would think about these topics later. He could sulk over it later— maybe when Jun left Amnos near the end of the month.

An hour and a half later, Nino received a text message from Jun.

_I'm here! We got here earlier than I thought._

Nino grinned, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach.

_I'm waiting outside the Arrivals gate._

_Great! I'll see you._

_See you._

Nino let out a long breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He was finally going to see Jun.

Fifteen minutes later, Nino stood near the Arrival gates, trying to locate Jun. After a few moments, he found Jun strolling through the gates with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. His partner was wearing Amnosian-style casual clothing. On top of his head were sunglasses ( _whatever for,_ Nino thought with a roll of his eyes), and he had cut his hair short! What once was wavy shoulder-length hair, Jun had replaced it with a much shorter but youthful cut, making his handsome features stand out even more.

Jun looked around before meeting his eyes. Giving him a huge grin, he strode over to Nino and enveloped him in a hug. Nino clutched back at him tightly, feeling overwhelmed at having Jun here with him. He missed him so much.

“Kazu!” Jun said happily.

“Hi Jun,” Nino replied, smiling into his lover’s chest. “About time you got here.”

Jun chuckled and pulled back to cradle Nino’s cheek in his palm. “I'm sorry for making you wait.”

Nino made an exasperated noise but he continued smiling. He reached down for Jun’s hand. “Come, let's go home. You must be tired.” He pulled Jun along with him, happy to finally have Jun here standing next to him.

“I slept a bit during the commute, but yeah, I guess I'm still a little exhausted,” Jun remarked as he pushed himself closer to Nino. He readjusted the bag on his shoulder and ran his free hand through his hair. Nino couldn't stop staring: he had never seen Jun with hair this short before. “What?” Jun asked in confusion.

Nino shook his head. “Nothing, your hair looks nice. I'll miss your waves though.”

Jun snorted. “I'm glad you think so. It's actually a lot less of a hassle to get ready in the morning now.” He ran a hand through his bangs.

“Bet you have bed hair now,” Nino teased.

Jun scoffed. “What bed hair?”

When they reached the car, Nino opened the door to the backseat and helped Jun place his bags in. When they finally drove out of the station, Jun let out a tired sigh.

“It feels good to not have to think about work for the next few weeks,” Jun said, looking out the car window. “I'm glad I was able to get my days off earlier this year. July is such a wonderful time in Amnos. Can we go to the beach?” Jun pushed down his sunglasses from the top of his head.

“Lucky you,” Nino replied sarcastically. “I'm swamped with work.”

“But you'll have me,” Jun said with a wink, “for company.” Nino smirked.

“I guess so. You can help me unpack, and then I'll go to the beach with you.”

Jun perked up. “How is the new place? How much do you still have left to unpack?”

Nino sighed in exasperation. “A lot,” he admitted. “I was hoping you can help?” He sent him his best puppy eyes. Jun snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Do I even have a choice?” he deadpanned, looking over the rim of his sunglasses at Nino.

“Darling, you always have a choice.”

Jun laughed before turning to the front again. After a short silence, Jun spoke again. “Sorry for asking you to get off work early.”

Nino shook his head. “It’s not a problem. I think that when I told them I had to pick up my partner from the station, they got more excited than I did. Old fools,” he said fondly before turning to Jun… who had a frown on his face. “Is there something wrong?” he asked in concern.

Jun took off his sunglasses and placed them on his lap. “This has been bugging me for a while but… I just didn’t know how to bring it up.”

“Hm? What’s up?” Nino asked worriedly when they stopped at a red light. He turned to look back over at Jun.

“What… what do you mean by ‘partner?’ Your work just lets you pick me up because of that? Wouldn’t you say lover instead?” he asked in confusion.

Nino made a noise of disbelief at him before turning back to the road. “Jun! I can’t say that! That’s inappropriate! Besides, we aren’t lovers!” he exclaimed in shock.

“What? What do you mean we aren’t lovers?” Jun asked in a hurt tone. Frowning, Nino pulled over to the side of the curb and put on the emergency lights.

“Wait.” Nino held up a hand between them. “Why don’t you like the fact that I call you my partner?” He felt nervous. What did Jun think they were?

“A partner is for work, isn’t it?” Jun asked, brow furrowed. “Toma and Shun are my partners. It sounds very… formal.”

Nino stared at him in bewilderment. Toma and Shun were… what? Trying hard not to get flustered, Nino counted to three before peaking. “Um… first of all, the term partner is definitely not for work. Not at _all,_ ” he emphasized. “Second, I hope this is one of those cultural differences that we haven’t encountered yet because I will be very hurt and angry if it isn’t.”

Now it was Jun’s turn to look at him in confusion. “I don’t understand. What does partner mean in Amnos?”

Nino felt his face heat up. It was a simple—no it wasn’t— question Jun was asking. Hating how red he could feel his face getting, and how he had butterflies in his stomach, he tried to explain the term the best he could. “A partner… a partner is… basically I’m saying you’re mine. That we’re s-serious. Our relationship,” he explained.

“So basically, a lover,” Jun said.

Nino sighed in exasperation. Why was Jun going on about that? “No!” he cried, making an ‘X’ with his arms. “Partners are way more than that. We are not sex partners!”

Jun gave him a look of bemusement. “Well, I don’t know what you think we are doing but… we’ve had sex plenty of times—”

“We aren’t lovers! We are more than that! More than boyfriends!” Nino didn’t know how to feel right now: hurt or shocked? “Partners are more than lovers, more than boyfriends. It means that we are devoted to each other,” he said quietly. Jun blinked before looking down at his lap. When Jun didn’t reply, Nino placed a hand on his knee gently. “Jun. Jun, what does lover mean to you?” he asked carefully. He was starting to understand that there really was a language difference involved. Jun had seemed pretty shocked when Nino denied that they were lovers, and taken back when he used ‘partner.’ Come to think of it, Jun used ‘lover’ pretty often to describe them.

Jun pursed his lips before turning his gaze to him. He observed Nino for a moment before finally saying, “On Arashi, a lover is someone we made a deep link with.” He frowned. “We don’t call someone we casually link with, our lover. A lover is someone we care deeply for, and someone we choose to devote ourselves to.” He turned his gaze back down to his lap.

Nino blinked. His mind was racing as he took in the Arashian’s explanation. So he was right: this was a case of cultural differences. “Jun,” he called softly. “I think… that we probably messed up a little.”

Jun snapped his gaze sharply back at Nino. “What?”

Nino smiled sheepishly and reached for Jun’s hand. “All this time… and we never cleared it up. I’m going to guess and say that the equivalent to an Arashian’s ‘lover’ is an Amnosian’s ‘partner.’ You use lover when you’re in a serious and committed relationship with someone, right?”

Jun nodded, and then looked at him with wide eyes. _Ah, he’s starting to realize it too now,_ Nino thought with a grin. “On Amnos, we call someone we love our partner: someone who we are in a serious and committed relationship with.”

“So you mean…”

Nino nodded. “Yeah,” he said with a smirk. “We were calling each other the same thing the entire time without realizing it!” He snickered, his heart almost skipping a beat when Jun flashed him a happy grin.

“Oh! I did not know that,” Jun said with amusement.

Nino shrugged and turned back to the wheel, changing the gears and pulling into the road again. “Adding to the fact that we hardly really use these terms unless we’re with others, I guess it makes sense.”

Jun nodded before letting out a small gasp. Nino turned his gaze back to him. “So… so that means… when we met your parents and I introduced myself as your lover…” he trailed off faintly.

Nino couldn’t even contain the heat that spread on his face. Jun looked over at him and laughed. He was pretty sure his entire face was red now.

“Um…” He coughed. Jun grinned and reached over and tugged on his earlobe.

“Your entire face—and your ear! They’re so red!” Jun laughed in delight. “You’re so cute.” He leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Nino swatted a hand at him after he pulled away.

“I’ll have you know that they still tease me about that every once in a while!” Nino whined, hating how hot he was getting. Jun chuckled beside him.

“I guess they were shocked. No wonder you were so quick to say partners back then.”

“It was embarrassing!” Nino wailed.

“Sorry, sorry,” Jun said in-between chuckles. “So a lover here is a sex partner?” he asked, intrigued.

Nino nodded, letting out a deep breath to calm himself down. “More or less. There’s no romantic feelings involved.”

Jun nodded. “Interesting. We don’t really have those in Arashi, so the entire concept is fascinating to me.”

“Though, I’m assuming lover is how you would translate it to Amnosian,” Nino guessed. “What is the word in Arashian?” he asked curiously.

Jun smiled and told him. Nino blinked. Huh. _Loved one._  

“That’s pretty,” he commented. Jun nodded, grinning brightly at him. “Well, lover of mine,” Nino said teasingly, “glad we got this sorted out.”

Jun grinned before turning his gaze back to the front. A few minutes later, he started snickering to himself.

“What now?” Nino asked.

“It’s just that… I remembered your parents’ faces when I called you my lover.” Jun burst out laughing.

Nino stared at him in amusement before shaking his head.

“I think that was my most embarrassing moment.”

Jun was howling now. “You have got to tell me what your parents said to you when I called you my lover!”

Nino rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. _What a child,_ he thought fondly.

 

When they got back to the apartment, Jun made a noise that was a mixture of frustration and exasperation. Nino smiled sheepishly as Jun began to start stacking some stray boxes on top of each other that were placed near the entrance.

“Kazu!” Jun exclaimed as he turned around and gave him a piercing glare. “Why is it so messy in here?!” Nino scratched the back of his neck and tried to give him his best puppy look.

“Well, you see…” he stiffened when Jun stepped up right in front of him, his face taking on an annoyed expression.

“I know that you’ve recently moved in, but there’s no excuse for this mess.”

Nino shrugged. “Which was why I was hoping you can help me?” he suggested, batting his lashes cutely at him. Jun glared at him before sighing.

“Fine. I’ll help you, but you owe me.” Jun raised an eyebrow at him. Nino nodded frantically and threw his arms around his partner.

“Yes! Thank you so much, Jun!” he exclaimed happily before getting on his tippy toes to give Jun a chaste kiss. _Success!_ Nino thought in triumph as he pulled back from him.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you were planning,” Jun drawled, shoving some of the boxes aside.

“Well, we all have our strengths and weaknesses,” Nino replied as he followed Jun inside his apartment. Just as he was about to remove his shoes, he remembered something. “Oh!” he exclaimed.

Jun turned around, placing his bags gently on the floor. “What's wrong?”

Nino shook his head. “I forgot to buy the stuff.”

“Stuff?”

“Condoms and lube.”

Jun laughed and crossed his arms. “What makes you think we need it tonight?” he asked with a smirk.

Nino returned his smirk with an impish grin and grabbed his keys again. “Well, tradition is important I say. And it never hurts to be safe. Want to join me?”

Jun shook his head. “No, I'm fine with whatever you'll buy. I'm just going to go wash up.”

Nino nodded. “Okay. I'll be back in a bit.”

Jun gave him a small wave before picking up his bags again and headed for the bedroom. Nino watched him fondly before turning to the front door again.

Nino whistled as he made his way down to the store. He wanted to run back to the apartment and attach himself to Jun, not wanting to be apart from him. _But safety first!_ he thought with a smirk.

Jun looked good. He had gotten a bit bigger (Nino could feel the muscles when he hugged him) in the past year, and he looked healthy. Not that Jun was never not healthy, but his partner seemed to glow now. Nino didn’t know if it was because Jun actually looked healthier because of lifestyle changes or if it was because he just missed the Arashian that much. _Maybe a mix of both,_ Nino thought in amusement.

Stepping into store, Nino grabbed a basket and quickly made his way for the “supplies.” It felt weird to be buying them again, but it was important. He grabbed two bottles of lube and two packs of condoms. _You never know,_ he thought with a snicker. Just as he was about to ring up his purchases, Nino turned around and headed for the food section. He was pretty sure Jun hadn’t eaten anything yet. Grabbing two bento boxes, Nino placed it in his basket.

When Nino returned to the apartment half an hour later, he found Jun lying down on the couch with his eyes closed. It looked like he was in slumber, one arm hanging down, almost touching the floor. His other arm was slung across his chest loosely. Nino quietly slipped off his shoes and walked over to his partner.

He sat down in front of him on the floor, placing the bag softly on the spot beside him. Nino scanned Jun’s face, not as intimidating as it was supposed to look if he was awake. Jun had decided to visit him a month earlier this year. He generally visited Amnos in August, but Jun had told him he was visiting earlier this year because he wanted to see Nino faster. The thought made him blush, but he was happy.

He had deeply missed Jun in the past year. Even if they were still able to talk to each other through the phone, Nino missed having Jun’s presence with him. Sometimes it amazed him that he was actually in a serious relationship, and a long-distance relationship at that. It was hard, but Nino wouldn't give Jun up for the world. He loved him too much. Maybe Sho was right, maybe he should take the future of their relationship more seriously.

“I can feel you staring,” Jun murmured, his eyes still closed.

Nino grinned. “Just admiring how handsome my boyfriend is.”

Jun snorted and opened his eyes slowly. Nino’s breath hitched. He had always loved the colour of his partner’s eyes. They were a majestic purple, a colour that no being on Amnos had. When it was reflected in the light, it turned a light purple, that made Jun’s features even more striking. It had always taken his breath away whenever Jun looked at him with those eyes—they were his favourite feature of Jun’s. Unable to help himself, Nino scooted closer, Jun’s eyes following his movements lazily and he pressed his lips softly against Jun’s.

It was a gentle kiss, the type that they could go on for hours without break. While Nino loved the fast, clothes-ripping, passionate kisses as well, he truly treasured these slow kisses the most. Those type of kisses made it seemed like they didn’t have limited time together.

Nino pushed himself closer so that his elbows were resting on the couch as he explored Jun’s mouth with his tongue. Jun had placed a hand on the nape of Nino’s neck as he reciprocated the kiss. Nino nibbled gently on Jun’s lips before pulling away to plant kisses on Jun’s neck and collarbones. Just as he was about to reach Jun’s chest, Jun sat up and cradled Nino’s face in his hands.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked in concern, twisting his body so that his legs were on either side of Nino. “You seem unsettled.”

“Nothing.” Nino surged up and wrapped his arms around Jun and captured his lips again. “Can you link us?” Nino asked, speaking against Jun’s lips. He didn’t want to pull away from Jun’s touch. He wanted to feel even closer to Jun. _I missed him so much,_ he thought desperately. Jun looked at him in confusion but nodded. When Nino felt a poke in his mind, he readily accepted the link.

‘Hello,’ Nino greeted Jun in Arashian. Jun smiled and nuzzled his cheek against Nino’s hair.

‘Hello. Are you sure you're alright?’ Nino buried his face in Jun’s neck, not wanting his partner to see the look on his face.

‘Absolutely fine. Just missed this. You,’ he admitted. He heard Jun chuckle through their link. He didn't even flinch when he felt arms wrap around his torso. Jun pulled him up so that he was seated on Jun’s lap. Nino snuggled closer to him.

‘I missed you too,’ Jun said, brushing a hand through Nino’s hair.

‘We are such saps!’ Nino complained. He felt hands push him away and Jun looked at him in amusement.

‘True, but I think we’re allowed.’ That was all the warning Nino got before Jun pulled him in for a kiss.

 _Oh._ The kiss this time was nothing like the previous one. It was heated and wet, just the way Nino liked before they got to the fun. Nino kissed Jun back with the same fervour, whimpering in his partner’s mouth when he felt hands slide under his shirt, roaming the skin of his chest. Every touch felt electric, like Jun was casting a spell on him. He helped Jun remove his own shirt, throwing it behind him on the floor while Jun’s hands went for his pants next. It didn’t take long before he was naked on top of Jun, grinding against him as he was pulled back in for another kiss.

“Are… you… going… to stay dressed?” Nino panted, still speaking in Arashian. He let out a sigh when Jun reached down to stroke his length. Placing his hands on Jun’s shoulders, he spread his legs a little wider.

“Maybe. If I fucked you now, you wouldn’t mind, would you?” Jun asked teasingly. ‘You’re quite pretty like this.’

‘Fuck you,’ Nino said, groaning when Jun gave his cock a firm squeeze.

‘I think, I am the one doing the fucking,’ Jun said. ‘Where’s the lube?’

Nino groaned but turned his body to grab the bag from the floor. Grabbing the first bottle he saw, he tossed the bag aside and handed Jun the lube. Jun looked at in amusement.

‘Pineapple flavoured?’ He quirked a brow at him. Nino smirked.

‘Pineapple-flavoured dick,’ he replied, grinding against Jun again. ‘Could be worse. I could have chosen cherry. Now hurry up!’

Jun made a ‘tsk’ sound and uncapped the bottle. ‘So impatient.’

Nino growled and pushed up to rest on his knees, spreading his legs wider. ‘I wasn’t fucked for a year, Captain Matsumoto. So hurry up and get to it,’ he demanded.

Jun laughed but complied with Nino’s order. He massaged the lubricant between his fingers before bringing it to Nino’s opening. “Pretty,” he said before pushing one finger in.

Nino narrowed his eyes at him as Jun wiggled his finger inside of him. ‘Do you think I can't take it?’ he asked in frustration. Jun grinned and pressed a kiss to Nino’s nipple.

‘Patience, Kazu.’ But he slipped another finger inside of Nino. Jun began pressing butterfly kisses to Nino’s chest and stomach as he pumped his fingers in and out of his lover. Nino grinded down against them and groaned when Jun added a third finger. ‘You're quite tight,’ Jun mused, licking Nino’s nipple and biting it gently.

Nino rocked against his partner’s fingers, moaning when Jun lightly brushed against his prostate. The sounds Nino was making was probably sweet to Jun’s ears because he felt his partner’s erection when he grinded down on his crotch.

‘I'm good! I'm good! Just stick it in now!’Nino whined loudly pushing himself away to look at him. He was panting lightly, and his cheeks were dusted pink.

Jun smirked. ‘Well then, go ahead.’ He leaned back and gestured to his erection. ‘Take it if you want it.’

Nino glared at him but quickly removed Jun’s belt. “You are the worst!” he complained, slapping Jun’s thigh so that he could pull the pants down. Jun snickered as he moved for the boxers next, rolling his eyes when he saw a wet patch there. “Yet, you're hard as a rock.”

“I never said I wasn't,” Jun replied watching with half-lidded eyes as Nino slathered lube on his penis. He watched Nino carefully as the he pushed himself up on his knees. Jun placed his hands on Nino’s waist as he reached behind him to grab a hold of his cock. Jun bit his lips to prevent making a sound as Nino slowly sunk down on his length, unable to keep his own whimpers from escaping.

It felt incredible, having Jun inside him again. When Nino bottomed out, he let out a tiny groan before placing his hands on Jun’s shoulders for balance. He rotated his hips, breath hitching when he felt Jun’s dick shift inside him.

‘Shit. You feel amazing around me,’ Jun said in a strained tone. ‘It's been way too long.’

“You're telling me,” Nino said with a whine, switching back to Amnosian briefly. His hands were gripping onto Jun’s shoulder tightly.

“Are you okay?” Jun asked in concern, replying back to him in the same language. He brought his hands to Nino’s stomach and gently caressed him.

“Yes, just—give me a minute,” Nino told him, scrunching his eyes shut tightly. After a few moments, Nino took a deep breath and began to move on top of him. “You need to take your clothes off or else it'll get ruined,” Nino pointed out when he sunk down before lifting back up again. Jun let out a grunt but began pulling off his shirt with the help of Nino. When his shirt was off, Nino leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Jun’s neck, relishing in the body heat of his lover and the friction he got against his dick from Jun’s stomach every time he pushed up.

Nino set a rhythm for himself. Jun sat still, letting Nino enjoy himself a bit. Nino’s moans were getting louder and louder as he moved faster on top of him. Jun’s hands moved to clench the globes of Nino’s ass. He slapped it every once in a while and when he kneaded the cheeks, Nino let out a loud moan.

‘How close are you?’ Jun asked in his language, groaning as Nino clenched around him tightly.

‘I could still go,’ Nino replied in a strained tone.

‘Good. So that means—’ He grabbed a hold of Nino’s hips and slid sideways down on the couch.

Nino let out a yelp as he fell on top of Jun. ‘What— oh!’

Jun thrusted up hard. Nino mewled loudly as Jun snapped his hips up once more before pounding into him in a quick pace. Nino spread his legs wide and laid his head against Jun’s chest, moaning as Jun moved faster inside of him.

Nino’s moans got louder as Jun thrusted into him faster. He struggled to push himself up so he could wrap a hand around himself, stroking himself to climax. When Jun gave a particularly hard thrust inside of him, Nino gasped before coming hard into his own hand and all over Jun’s stomach. Jun managed a few more thrusts inside of him before spilling his release in him with a low groan.

When Jun got his breathing back to normal, he sat up and wrapped his arms around Nino, claiming his lips in another passionate kiss. Nino snaked one arm around Jun’s waist while his other hand went up to cradle Jun’s cheek against his palm. When they pulled apart, Nino began grinding against Jun again.

‘You can still go?’ Jun asked in amusement as he caressed the skin of Nino’s lower back.

‘Can you?’ Nino asked before pushing Jun down on the couch again and locking lips with his.

They were going to have a lot of fun tonight.

 


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fluff, more domesticity, more smut, and more angst. Also more words. Help.

The next morning, Nino woke to Jun between his legs and pushing inside of him.

Moaning at the feeling of being filled up slowly by his partner, he wrapped his legs around Jun as he started moving in him slowly. _It’s always nice to be woken like this,_ Nino thought, whimpering softly when Jun took him in his hand and timed his strokes with his thrusts. Making love with Jun in the morning was always a sensual experience. Jun never teased him in the mornings, always preferring to get Nino off as soon as he could but in an unrushed manner. This was being proven by the deep and slow thrusts Jun made as he moved inside of him—the type where Nino could feel each and every inch of Jun as he moved inside and when he pulled out. It drove Nino crazy with desire, but he knew he was under Jun’s control. No matter how much begging Nino did, Jun would never listen if this was how Jun wanted to make love to him.

It didn't take long until Nino came in his hand, his back arching as Jun fucked him through his orgasm. When he was done, Jun had stopped, looking down at him as he caressed Nino’s thighs. Nino sighed in contentment and unwrapped his legs from around Jun’s waist and placed them on top of his partner’s shoulders. He could still feel how hard Jun was inside of him. Nino pushed against Jun, and Jun began moving again, this time at a much faster and harder pace. Nino tried to keep up with his partner’s thrusts, clenching around him whenever Jun pushed in. When Jun came, Nino stayed still, still clenching around his partner’s cock as Jun rode out his orgasm. He watched as Jun looked back down at him, shivering from the force of his climax.

“What was that for?” Nino asked, panting lightly as Jun pulled out gently and grabbed a few tissues from the bed stand to clean him up.

“Just a little something to start your day off with,” Jun replied with a grin before getting up from the bed. Nino admired the muscles on his partner’s body. He really had gotten a lot more muscular within the past year. “I'll make breakfast,” he offered, looking back at him.

“Hmm… okay.” Nino watched him go fondly before throwing the covers up over his head with a groan. He didn’t want to leave his bed just yet.

Half an hour later, Nino made his way into the kitchen. Jun was scooping out rice into bowls.

“I haven't made a proper Amnosian meal in a long time. I hope this is okay,” Jun said, placing a bowl in front of Nino. He watched as Nino picked up a piece of chicken and put it in his mouth, waiting for Nino’s verdict. When Nino gave him a thumbs up and popped more in his mouth, Jun let out a sigh of relief.

“I don’t know why you worry,” Nino said, swallowing his food down. “You’re a really good cook!”

Jun wasn’t so sure. He took a seat across from Nino. “I can cook Arashian food very well, but when it comes to Amnosian… I find it a little bit difficult.” He picked up his chopsticks and started placing some food in his bowl.

Nino shrugged and shoved a bunch of rice in his mouth. “The meals are fine to me. Stop worrying so much Jun.” He gave his partner a pointed look. Jun blushed and looked down at his bowl.

“Ah,” Jun said a few moments later. “Can you teach me how to make some good gyoza later? I’ve been wanting to try and make it for a while now.” Nino nodded.

“Sure. We can do it when I come back from work?” Nino suggested. Jun nodded.

“I won’t be going anywhere for… the day.” He eyed the boxes around the apartment in disdain. Nino grinned.

“You’re the best _lover_ anyone could have!” He enjoyed the blush that appeared on Jun’s face when he said that. Scoffing at him, Jun turned back to his food.

“I better be the only lover for you,” he mumbled quietly to himself. Nino smirked.

 

After bidding Nino a good day at work, Jun looked around the apartment in exasperation. _Typical,_ he thought when he pushed a few boxes out of the way. He couldn’t help but feel his chest warm at the thought of Nino leaving some of the unpacking to him. Even though they had yet to live together for more than a month at a time, Nino trusted Jun to know how and where Nino wanted things set up. It wasn’t anything extraordinary by any means, but it meant a lot to Jun that Nino had put that much trust in him.

 _Right,_ he thought as he walked over to a huge box. _Might as well try to organize the boxes first._ Thankfully, that was an easy task. Nino might be lazy, but he was organized. Every box was labelled, especially ones that had fragile items in them, for easy organization. It took Jun about an hour to get the boxes organized into three different categories: fragile items, paper and books, and others.

Jun started on the papers and books first. Nino lived in a two bedroom apartment. One room was his actual bedroom while the other one was his office. Jun stacked the boxes on the floor beside the desk and looked around the space. It was definitely bigger than the old one. The good thing was that Nino had the furniture set up. All Jun had to do was unpack the stuff to be placed on the shelves.

“Better get to work,” he told himself with a sigh and bent down to rip open the boxes.

 

Nino hummed to himself as he entered his workplace. As he walked down the hall to his office, he could see several of his coworkers staring at him in amusement. It wasn’t so often that they saw him this cheerful, and Nino could _not_ be any happier.

Still feeling delighted by this morning’s events, Nino whistled a sunny tune. He always felt better when Jun came to visit, and this year was no different. As he proceeded to make his way down the hall, his portable device beeped. Reaching into the pocket of his pants, he pulled out the device and saw that Jun had sent him a picture.

_Isn’t this kind of me?_

Below the message was a picture of his living room, looking much cleaner and organized compared to when he had left this morning. In the middle of the picture, Jun was looking at the camera with his arms crossed across his chest, smirking at the camera. Nino grinned and immediately typed back a response.

_Such a kind lover of mine. Here’s a reward._

Nino quickly made his way to his office and close the door behind him. Loosening his tie and shirt collar, Nino brought the phone closer to his neck and snapped a picture of the hickey Jun had given him last night. Snickering to himself, he sent the picture off and pocketed the phone. When he turned to his desk, he let out a groan.

“Well, better get started then,” he mumbled to himself quietly and made his way over to his chair.

 

When lunchtime rolled around, Nino groaned and stretched his arms and back, trying to relieve some of the strain. He had been hunched over his laptop for the past few hours, translating documents. If he had to read another document about Kanjani’s requirements for shipping goods in their country, he was going to scream.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and Nino looked up and saw Sho and Aiba standing at the door. He closed his laptop and raised an eyebrow at them when they let themselves in.

“Wow, is there a special occasion? Why are you both here?” Nino asked in bewilderment.

Unbothered with his friend’s lack of manners, Aiba beamed as he walked over to his friend.

“You seem happy today!” he exclaimed, nudging Nino in the side.

“That’s because Jun-kun is in town,” Sho said with a chuckle and leaned against the door.

“Why are you guys here?” Nino grumbled. Aiba tapped him on the shoulder motioning for him to get up.

“Lunch! Hurry! Sho-chan is treating today!” Aiba exclaimed. Nino looked over at his friend, who simply smiled back.

“I won’t ever say no to a free meal, but what’s the occasion?” Nino slowly pushed himself out of his chair.

Sho smirked. “You'll see.”

Looking between his friends in confusion, Nino didn't press the issue further.

When they walked to the front lobby, a man was standing at the front of the doors. Nino’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Jun!” he exclaimed, not expecting his partner to show up at his workplace. Jun waved as they walked over to him. “What are you doing here?”

“I was in the area so I thought I should stop by and say hi to Aiba-kun and Sho-kun,” Jun explained, taking delight at Nino’s bewilderment.

“Nice to see you again, Jun-kun!” Aiba said happily, throwing his arms around the Arashian for a hug. Jun chuckled and patted his friend on the back.

“Hi Aiba-kun,” he greeted back happily. Aiba sighed and made a face when they pulled back.

“When will you call me Masaki again?” Aiba whined. Jun chuckled when Aiba wrapped his arms around him again. “Why are you using my last name?”

“Because I respect you too much to call you by your first name, Aiba-kun,” he replied in amusement.

Aiba blushed and then pulled away from Jun for the second time. “You don't have to call me by my last name! It's too formal!”

Jun smirked. “I'm still Arashian, Aiba-kun.” Aiba sighed and Sho patted their friend on his shoulder as a comforting gesture.

“Yes, but you’re in Amnos now!” Aiba whined, “and it’s embarrassing!”

“Give up, Masaki,” Nino said with a snicker. “Jun isn’t going to call you Masaki any time soon. It’s the soldier in him.” Jun nodded.

“You’re an important and respected figure on Arashi, Aiba-kun. I can’t call you so casually.”

“But it’s too formal here! We’re friends! Friends call each other by their first names here!” Aiba pouted.

“I guarded you once before, remember?”

“Yeah, but…”

“You guys argue about this every year,” Nino said, rolling his eyes.

Jun shrugged and turned to Sho. Sho stepped up to him with an outstretched hand.

“Jun-kun, it's good to see you again,” Sho said kindly. Jun nodded and clasped his hand around Sho’s returning the shake.

“It's great to see you guys again. How are the kids and Okada-san, Sho-kun?”

“Very well! They started school last year.” Sho beamed.

Jun grinned. “That's great to hear!”

Aiba suddenly burst out laughing when the two pulled back their hands. “I still remember the first time we met Jun-kun!”

Sho turned to Aiba in amusement. “Ah yes, the bowing.”

Jun shook his head in exasperation. “That was ages ago!”

“It took you quite a while to get it,” Nino commented, moving to stand beside Jun. Jun looked down at him, unamused. “What? It's true! It took you a couple months to finally get used to the bowing!”

“I remember you were so awkward the first time you met Masaki,” Sho said with a chuckle.

“Arashians bow to their superiors only, right?” Aiba asked as they began to head out the lobby. Nino stayed quiet, walking beside Jun closely as he listened to his friends talk.

“Yeah,” Jun replied. “Bowing to elders or superiors at work, and handshakes with anyone of our status, age, or younger.”

“It's interesting,” Sho remarked. Aiba nodded.

“It is! I mostly shake hands with people on my trips to Arashi, but a lot of people bow to me.”

Aiba and Sho had moved to walking in front of the couple on the sidewalk. Jun and Nino were close behind them.

“You're a diplomat, Masaki,” Nino retorted. “Of course they would bow to you.”

Aiba blushed and shook his head. “But I'm not anyone super important or powerful!” he denied.

Sho looked at his friend in exasperation. “Masaki, you know that's not true.”

Jun nodded in agreement. “Yes, you're important for the peace between the planets. Don't sell yourself short, Aiba-kun.”

Aiba blushed but didn't say anything else. As the friends continued the conversation, Nino felt a poke at the side of his mind. He let down his mental shields. Even though he hardly ever had his mental shields up except for when Jun reminded him, Nino appreciated the fact that Jun asked permission to link with him every time.

‘You're rather quiet,’ Jun said as soon as he linked with Nino. He heard Jun chuckling at something Aiba said.

Nino shrugged and tried to hide a smile. ‘Just enjoying the day and this walk with my friends and partner.’

‘The fact that you are enjoying the outdoors is shocking,’ Jun teased him before nodding at something Sho asked him. Nino smirked.

Truth to be told, it really was a nice day. The sun was out, and even if it was very warm, there was a light breeze in the air. It was comfortable. Nino loosened his collar a bit to give himself some relief from the heat.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Nino was secretly relieved it wasn't one of the fancier places his friends liked to go to. They were seated near the window, and Sho and Aiba sat on one side while he and Jun sat on the other. When they were settled down and ordered their food, Aiba was the first to start the conversation.

“So how are things on Arashi, Jun-kun?”

Jun fiddled with his napkin. “It's going well. Same as always.”

Aiba smirked. “How many times have you done it already?” He giggled when Jun made a choking noise. Nino gaped at his friend. He knew Aiba tended to be open about sex, and Nino was no prude, but he didn't expect Aiba to be this blatant in public about it.

“Masaki!” Sho hissed, looking around to see if anyone heard them. “Why the hell would you ask that?!”

“It's a valid question!” Aiba exclaimed. Sho turned red.

“It's a personal question!”

‘I… I shouldn't be surprised,’ Jun said weakly, his eyes darting down at Nino. Nino shrugged and sighed, watching his two friends bicker in the restaurant about public decency (or lack of). ‘Why does he want to know that?’

‘Because he's a pervert,’ Nino deadpanned.

The rest of lunch went well, and Sho made sure Aiba didn't ask any more personal questions. When they got back to the office, Aiba and Sho had given their good byes first before leaving to give the couple some privacy.

Jun hugged Nino first, giving him a full body hug. “Well, see you then.”

Nino squeezed him back. “That apartment better be less cluttered when I get back,” Nino said teasingly, giving him a stern look.

Jun rolled his eyes. “It's actually coming along quite well,” he remarked. “Still a lot to do however.”

Nino pulled away and stared at him. “I was only kidding, Jun! You don't have to do all of it!” Was Jun being serious?

Jun shrugged. “Might as well. Not like I'm doing anything else.”

Nino sighed and crossed his arms. “Fine, do whatever you want then.” Jun could be particularly stubborn and he didn't want to argue with him right now. Bidding each other goodbye, they parted for the day.

 

When Nino got home that evening, Jun was putting the rest of the boxes that still had to be unpacked in one corner of the living room.

Today had been successful. He had gotten most of Nino’s belongings sorted out and the office was almost looking like an actual office. When he heard Nino’s tired greeting from the front door, Jun stopped what he was doing and went to go greet his lover.

“Hey, welcome back!” Jun greeted warmly. Nino waved and slipped his dress shoes off before walking over to the couch and throwing himself on it. “Long day?” Jun asked, caressing Nino gently on the back.

Nino groaned and moved closer to Jun. “I feel like I can translate those documents in my sleep now.”

“Poor Kazu,” Jun teased. “Well, do you want to postpone our cooking lesson?”

Nino pushed himself up to lean on his elbows. “No,” he replied with a shake of his head. “We can still do it tonight. Just let me wash up first.” Jun nodded.

“If it's good with you.” Jun didn't want to push his lover into doing something if he was tired, but Nino was already pulling himself off the couch and heading towards the bathroom. Jun watched him go for a moment before heading back to the kitchen where the ingredients were laid out. He bit his lip and began to unwrap the plastic wrap off of the bowls before throwing them in the trash. Grabbing the bar stool at the kitchen island, Jun took a seat and waited patiently for Nino to finish.

Truth to be told, Jun knew how to make gyoza. He had made it once for Ohno back on Arashi, and his friend had loved it greatly. No, he’d lied to Nino about not knowing how to make the dumplings because he wanted to spend a relaxing evening with him and doing something fun. Besides, Nino was actually a great cook, and Jun had enjoyed all the Amnosian dishes that his lover had prepared for him in the past.

 _Hopefully the cooking will go well,_ Jun thought as he looked over at the bathroom door. He really wanted Nino to enjoy himself.

 

A few hours later, Jun was cleaning up the dishes while Nino was packing the remaining gyoza in a plastic bag. They had made three dozen gyoza and as Jun had hoped, it had been an enjoyable time spent. Nino had looked much more alert after his shower, and he seemed excited to make the gyoza, explaining the ingredients, and showing Jun how to fold them.

Jun spent the entire time acting dumb, pretending he didn't know what he was supposed to do. He had a feeling Nino knew he wasn’t completely useless, but he didn’t mention it. All in all, it had been a fun activity to do together and Jun was satisfied with his plan.

When the two of them headed to bed later that night, Jun scooted close to Nino and threw an arm over Nino’s waist and pulled him closer. Sometimes he was thankful for his strength—Arashians were much stronger than Amnosians, and Nino weighed like nothing to him. Though, when they were cuddling or making love, Jun really had to be careful so that he didn’t accidently crush his little Amnosian lover.

“Hey,” Jun said quietly, lips touching the nape of Nino’s neck. Nino shuffled a bit and then turned over so that he was face to face with Jun.

“Hm?” Nino asked, his eyes closed. He tangled his legs with Jun and snuggled close. “What is it?”

“I want to go to the beach,” Jun said, still looking at Nino’s face. His eyes traced the shape of Nino’s nose, the curves of his lips, and the moles that dotted his lover’s face. “You promised.”

“I said I would do it after you help me unpack,” Nino murmured. Jun rolled his eyes and poked Nino in the side, making him yelp in surprise and pain. “Ow!”

“Honestly,” Jun sighed in exasperation, “the things I do for you.”

Nino giggled and slowly opened his eyes to reveal light brown orbs. “You love me,” he said cheekily. Jun snorted.

“I do, but I really want to go to the beach.”

“Hmmm…” Nino blinked owlishly before counting down with his fingers. When he reached the last finger he said, “We can go on the weekend? It should be fine. Though, it will have to be in the evening because I have to do something for work. Is that okay?”

Jun grinned and nodded. “Yes! That sounds good!” He immediately started brainstorming things to bring.

Nino smiled and then scowled at him. “Now go to sleep. Some people have work tomorrow.”

Jun watched in amusement as his lover closed his eyes again. _He is so cute,_ Jun thought, watching as Nino’s breathing slowed down after a while, indicating he had fallen asleep. Jun couldn’t wait.

 

“I don’t think it’s necessary, Kazu…”

Jun looked down at Nino in exasperation. It was around seven in the evening, and they were finally going to the beach several days later. Nino had bought Jun a pair of swimming trunks after he’d left work for the day, choosing purple trunks that matched his eyes. Jun hadn’t even remembered he needed swimming wear.

Nino looked up at him, his eyes narrowed into a glare and his arms crossed across his chest. He was definitely not happy with him at the moment.

“Oh, but I do,” Nino said drily. “Either we bring the cooler with us or we are staying home.”

Jun frowned. Why was Nino being so stubborn about this? Okay, granted that the last time was an… issue… but he was definitely going to be more careful this time. “It's really not—”

“You fucking fainted the last time! Do you know how terrified I was?!” Nino yelled, his hands balling into fists. “I don't want to see you collapse in front of me again! Just because you're Arashian, it doesn't mean you're invincible! Now, take the cooler or we are _not_ going!” Nino finished with a sense of finality.

Jun sighed, knowing full well he was going to lose this argument.

The last time he’d gone to the beach with Nino in the middle of summer, he had forgotten how hot it could really get.

The Arashian race was basically built for combat. They were classified as a warrior race, despite their lack of fighting among other planets because they had a very developed and civilized society. They were stronger and heavier than other races, and most, if not all, Arashians did some exercise to keep their bodies fit.

However, despite all the amazing traits of his race, they did have a weakness, especially in the summer months of Amnos: they were prone to overheating.

Even so, Jun loved to visit Amnos when the planet was in the summer season. He definitely had to be careful when he went, but he loved how everything didn't feel cold for once. Arashian body temperatures ran high, helping them stay warm in their cold planet, but Jun loved the warm sunlight on his skin, and the heat in the air.

Which brought them back to their current issue. After Jun had collapsed from overheating the last time he went to the beach (scaring the wits end out of Nino), his lover was demanding they brought ice packs and a cooler with them this time.

“Just because we are going in the evening, it doesn't make it any less hot!” Nino pointed out. Jun supposed that was true. Nino did live in an area where the planet was hotter during the summer, and it stayed hot _all_ day. There was hardly any relief from the heat.

“Fine,” Jun said, giving up. “We can bring the cooler.”

Nino nodded, satisfied with Jun’s answer. “Good,” he said. “Because if you pass out again, I'm going to get Sho-chan over here to kick your ass.”

Jun rolled his eyes and picked up the cooler. “As if he can do that!” he grumbled before heading towards the car.

When they arrived at the beach, all Jun wanted to do was run in the water and take a swim. It was definitely hot this evening, and he was secretly glad Nino was insistent on bringing the cooler. _Collapsing a second time might remove my beach privileges,_ he thought with a wry smile.

Beside him, Nino was pulling out the towels and Jun helped him set up the umbrella. Soon, the two of them were settled down and relaxing on their towels, watching the remainder of sunset. Jun let out a content sigh. If only he could do this more often. Just as he was about to doze off, he felt a finger at his side.

“If you feel hot, you better let me know or grab a drink _and_ an ice pack from the cooler, okay?” Nino demanded, glaring fiercely at him.

“Yes mother,” he drawled.

Nino poked him harder. “I am not your mother, I am your partner/lover!”

Jun looked at him in amusement. “Well, lover of mine, do you want to have some fun?”

Nino scowled. “It's getting dark out, why do you want to—” Nino paused when he saw the lecherous look on Jun’s face. “Oh no… no!” he said in a strict voice. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Jun!” Nino hissed, sitting up and looking around. “We’re in a public place!” He looked at him in disbelief as Jun moved to sit up too. _Was he being serious right now?_

“But there's no one here,” Jun reasoned, looking around as well. There really wasn't. Everyone had already left the beach, and it was only the two of them lounging on the sand. That, and the fact that they were in a pretty secluded area too. _This was a good choice,_ Jun thought to himself with a smirk. _Not that Kazunari needs to know…_

“We can't have sex now!” Nino said in alarm as Jun moved to push him down on the towels. “Jun!”

“Relax, Kazu. There's no one here right now,” he began rubbing his hands up and down Nino’s chest, admiring the pale skin of his lover. “Doesn't it…” he leaned down to whisper in Nino’s ear, “excite you a little?” Jun dropped his voice to a husky tone and smirked when he felt Nino shiver under his touch.

“I am so going to regret this,” Nino groaned, “but I can't resist when you use that voice.”

It was a win when Nino pulled him down for a kiss.

 

For the next couple of weeks, Jun and Nino spent as much time as they could together after Nino finished work. Sometimes, when Nino was too drained from work to go out, they snuggled on the couch together and watched TV. Those were Nino’s favourite moments because he’d rather stay home than go out.

They had sex as much as they could, and each time was as special as the last. It meant a lot to the both of them, and the small amount of time they had with each other. Nino noticed that this time, he and Jun spoke to each other mentally more often than ever. Nino had initiated it once (after a few tries), and then it just seemed natural to communicate that way after.

Nino tried to take Jun out to see at least two national parks. Since it was summer, many of them were open for the public. Of course, Nino made sure Jun didn't overexert himself in the sun. It was unusually hot this year, and Nino didn't want Jun to get hurt.

There were a few times where Jun visited Nino at work to bring him lunch. Since Nino sometimes had a habit of not eating anything at all, Jun would make him lunch and personally deliver it to him. Those visits made Nino’s day. On some occasions, he kept Nino company for a few hours before going back to the apartment. Aiba and Sho generally came to visit him whenever Jun was around.

Today was no different except for one thing: Aiba. Jun had came by earlier to drop off his lunch for him before leaving. Taking his lover’s visit as a nice way to unwind for the break, he’d ended up making out with Jun in his office for a little bit before Aiba had barged in without knocking (as usual). It had been a little embarrassing, but Aiba wasn't the type to get flustered by walking in on people. After Jun left, Nino noticed that Aiba had been unusually quiet after.

At first, he wondered if it was something he and Jun had done. But then Nino remembered that Aiba had just gotten home yesterday from a three-day visit to Arashi. _It definitely has something to do with Oh-chan,_ Nino thought as he watched his friend from the corner of his eye. He wasn’t going to pry though, like always. Aiba, despite his outgoing personality, was very shy and very private about his love life. He would never reveal details unless Nino asked. He didn't mind when he did ask, but Nino always thought that it wasn't something he should do. Aiba loved knowing about other people’s love lives though.

Still, Nino wondered if he should ask about his trip this time. He had never seen Aiba get this solemn or quiet after a trip. It worried him. Plus, Aiba seemed to be attaching himself to him today, bringing his work in to Nino’s office and doing it there rather than in his own. Nino didn't mind, but it was strange.

When he managed to get himself away from Aiba (“bathroom break!”), he immediately ran to Sho’s office.

Sho was startled when Nino dashed in and shut the door behind him.

“Nino? What's wrong?” Sho asked, getting up from his chair. Nino held out a hand to stop him, shaking his head.

“You don't have to get up,” Nino said, straightening his tie before walking over to his friend and throwing himself down on the chair. “Masaki has been driving me crazy today,” he groaned tiredly, rubbing at his eyes with the palm of his hand.

“Where is he by the way?” Sho asked curiously, “I hardly saw him all day.”

“That's because he’s been holed up in my office the entire time,” Nino deadpanned. “Something's wrong.” He narrowed his eyes and picked at the cuff of his shirt.

Sho frowned and brushed his papers aside. “What do you mean?”

“He’s been quiet the whole day,” Nino explained, “he hasn’t bothered me like he usually does, and he’s always sighing or frowning when he thinks I’m not looking. Something happened when he went to Arashi.”

Sho shook his head and sighed, scratching at his head. “I thought things were okay between him and Ohno-san,” he said. “I don’t know much about their relationship though. He doesn’t tell me these things.”

“He doesn’t tell me either,” Nino said dryly. “Jun tells me everything, but that’s all Oh-chan’s side.” He sighed and kicked his feet in frustration. “These two are so annoying.”

“Do you think they linked?” Sho asked, twirling his pen with his fingers. “A deep link, I mean.”

Nino blinked. That was a possibility… but… “But why would he be depressed then?” He shook his head. “I doubt it. Does Masaki even know what a deep link is?”

Sho shrugged and spun the pen faster. “I don’t know.”

“How often do you and Okada-kun do it?” Nino asked, leaning on the desk with his elbows. It wasn’t often that he and Sho spoke about their relationships to each other, despite both of them being with an Arashian. Their experiences were too different, especially since Sho and Okada had children now. It was hard to relate to that.

Sho furrowed his brow. Nino watched as he bit his lip to recall the answer to his question. “Um…”

“How many days can you go for?” Nino asked instead.

“Ah. Two days at most. I can’t do any longer than that with Junichi or else I pass out,” Sho said with a sheepish smile. “He says I think too much, that’s why I can’t do it for longer.” Nino nodded.

“That makes sense. But you guys communicate the Arashian way more, right?”

Sho nodded. “Yeah, he prefers speaking mentally. I don’t mind. And it helps me practice my Arashian more.”

“Your Arashian is fine though,” Nino pointed out in confusion. Sho shook his head.

“It’s not as good as yours.”

“Sho-chan, it’s my job to know the language. Of course I need to be fluent!” Nino exclaimed in exasperation. Sho shrugged, sending him a grin.

“So… Masaki…”

Nino sighed and got up from the chair. “Let’s just wait and see what happens. I don’t know what’s going on between those two. Why is it so complicated? We were never this complicated with our Arashians, Sho-chan.”

Sho laughed. “True. We never met Ohno-san before either. Makes it harder for us to know what’s really going on.”

Nino groaned. “These two are so annoying.”

“Who said love was easy though?”

Nino made a face at him and headed for the door. “Ewww, Sho-chan! Don’t say sappy stuff like that!”

Sho laughed and waved him off.

When Nino got home from work that evening, Jun was on the couch reading a book. For some reason, the sight made his heart clench. He didn't know if it was because of Aiba’s current situation with Ohno (if his suspicions were correct), or if the scene was just too domestic for his own tastes. It hurt more than he thought because Jun would be going back home tomorrow.

Jun always left after his three weeks were up, and then they wouldn't see each other for another 12 months. Nino realized in the past couple of weeks, he had missed Jun way more than he should. Sho was right: Nino didn't want to do this for the rest of his life. _But what would change?_ Nino thought, as he walked over to sit beside Jun on the couch. He didn't know what they could do that would make them both happy. How would he even bring it up to him?

Being together was definitely the best option, but it was hard for them actually make that happen. They both had their careers. Nino couldn't drop what he was doing now and move to Arashi—Jun couldn't drop his work in the military either to move to Amnos. They were comfortable in their roles, but it wasn't enough. Nino wanted Jun beside him everyday. _But it's not possible,_ Nino thought weakly as he curled himself around a happy Jun, who was more than willing to let him do so.

Even though Jun was here beside him, he felt more alone than ever. He buried his face in Jun’s stomach, trying to capture the scent of Jun, trying to imprint it in his memory.

“Hey,” he heard Jun say softly. There was a light rustling noise and soon he felt a hand on his head. “What's wrong?” It was always the same. Jun was always looking after him. And that was the worst part.

 _Everything. Don't go. I'll miss you._ Nino wanted to say, but didn't have the courage to voice it. Instead, he opted for a simple, “Nothing.”

For once, Jun didn't push him. Maybe Jun understood how he was feeling right now too. He buried his face in Jun’s shirt even more. He didn't want Jun to see his face, to see the look of desperation on his face about the thought of Jun leaving. _If we were in a deep link, he would know everything,_ he thought with a wry smile. But even then, Jun knew him without it. And that made him feel even more depressed.

Nino thought back to the first time Jun had told him about it. It had been a year and a half after they met, and Jun had to leave the next day.

Jun had been bothered about something the entire day, being unusually quiet. Nino had thought it was because he was leaving him, and the thought alone was enough to make Nino disgruntled. He didn't ask Jun about it, knowing full well that the Arashian wouldn't tell him.

_  
The night before Jun had to go, they decided to spend the entire evening lounging on the couch together, sharing kisses and touches, and whispering sweet nothings at each other. Nino thought it was bittersweet._

_The past three weeks had been amazing. It was good to see his boyfriend after half a year, but he was sad to see him go again. He was happy that they were able to communicate by other means at least._ Not all was hopeless, _he thought as he snuggled closer to Jun._

_Nino had thought it would have been awkward seeing Jun in person after quite a while, and it was, but only for a few days. After they got over the initial hesitance and wariness, they were constantly attached at each other’s hips._

_Nino got handsy with Jun. Generally it resulted in sex, which was not a concern for both parties involved._ There was only so much one can do with his own hand, _Nino thought._

 _But now Jun was leaving again, and Jun seemed incredibly upset about something._ But what? What is he upset about? _Nino wondered, as Jun traced soft circles on his stomach with his fingers as they snuggled on the couch together watching tv._

_It definitely wasn't because Jun was leaving. No, it had to be something else. He pondered on whether he should ask or not. Would it be too nosy?_

_“Hey… Kazu…?” Jun murmured, pressing his face against the back of Nino’s hair._

_“Yeah?”_

_Jun didn’t say anything for a long time. Nino frowned and tried to turn around, but Jun’s hands immediately stopped him._

_“Jun…?” he called hesitantly. “Is everything okay?” What was going on?_

_Jun nodded slowly and sighed. “Yeah…”_

_“What’s wrong?”_

_“I…”_

_Nino waited for Jun to respond. It wouldn’t do to push him to talk._

_“Kazu, I wanted to ask you something,” Jun said finally. “And I’m hoping you’ll say yes.”_

_Nino’s heart was beating so fast in his chest. What was Jun talking about? “O-okay…”_

_“Um. You know how Arashians— we’re a telepathic race, right?”_

_Nino nodded slowly. “Yes…”_

_“I was… I know it’s very fast but—” Jun paused, and Nino could feel his boyfriend shake behind him. “I—I was wondering if you wanted to do a deep link with me,” he finally said, his body tense behind him._

_NIno blinked. A deep link? “What’s a deep link?”_

_“It’s… it’s something that’s extremely revered among my people. We only do deep links with people we truly care about. With the person we love,” he added as an afterthought. “Kazu—”_

_Nino’s eyes widened and he immediately turned around, almost falling off the couch if not for Jun’s quick reflexes. “So it’s like marriage?” he asked, gaping at him. Jun startled, but he seemed to think about it._

_“I… guess so? We don’t have ceremonies or anything official to say that we made a deep link with someone. People just know,” Jun said, blushing as he realized the implications of Nino’s question._

_Nino stared at him. So basically… “Are you asking me to marry you? Arashian style?!” he exclaimed loudly._

_Jun winced and then blushed madly. Nino couldn’t help but wonder at how pretty that made Jun look._

_“Um… maybe?” he said shyly. “Like I said, I know it’s a little… fast… but… I really want to do a deep link with you, Kazunari.” He ducked his head down, unable to meet Nino’s eyes. “It’s usually… for life.”_

_“Well…” Nino said after a long pause between them. It was hard to think right now, his mind swirling with thoughts that he couldn’t keep track of. He definitely wasn’t expecting this. Jun was basically asking for him to be with him forever. For some reason, the thought didn’t scare him as much as it should have. In fact, he felt giddy at the thought. Realizing that he was taking too long to answer, and that Jun was slowly starting to panic (if his rapid breathing was any indication), Nino reached out for his hand. “I didn’t expect to be asked for my hand in marriage this way,” he finally said, chuckling. It was surreal._

_“So… you…?” Jun snapped his head back, eyes shining with hope. Nino grinned and nodded._

_“Of course I will. You’re not getting rid of me that easily. Besides, that means you’re stuck with me too.”_

_Jun beamed and pulled him close against his chest. Nino let out a small_ oof! _but allowed himself to be held._

_“That’s what I wanted in the first place anyway.”  
_

Nino sighed as he curled himself closer to Jun.

Doing a deep link with Jun was one of the most amazing things he had ever done in his entire life. The feeling of being connected to Jun in every sense—literally every sense—was an experience that he could never put into words. The first time with Jun had been phenomenal, even though he had been terrified out of his mind about what Jun would think about him. Nino could see why Arashian couples sought to have a deep link with each other. It made you feel complete to be able to be one with each other.

Unfortunately, Nino was not an Arashian. There were a few problems because of this.

Even if Nino wanted to keep a deep link, he wasn’t able to maintain it. Since Amnosians weren’t a telepathic race, they were unable to keep it for long periods of time. They had tried a few times, and the experience had been truly interesting. He was in tune with his thoughts still, but he could also feel Jun’s at the side of his mind. It had been a really unique experience, having Jun’s feelings in his head, and stray thoughts Jun didn’t mind sharing with him. Of course, Jun received the same on his side with his thoughts and feelings, but on a much bigger scale since Nino’s mental shields weren’t as strong as Jun’s.

However, if Nino kept the deep link for more than two days, he would start developing splitting headaches. The first time it had happened, he had passed out—according to the doctor, there was too much strain on his mind. Despite that, Nino had really loved his experience in doing a deep link with Jun. He didn’t want them to stop doing it just because of his incompetence.

Jun had been reluctant to do it again, especially after he saw Nino collapse in front of him. But Nino had been adamant. He understood that the deep link was something special for Arashians, and if he was going to be in a relationship with a _telepathic_ person, Nino wanted to at least try. And also because of the amazing feeling of being connected to Jun in that way. It was a give and take relationship, and Nino didn’t want to take away something unique and important from Jun. Especially since Jun had been terrified to ask Nino the first time. Nino knew it meant a lot to Jun.

They had tried to increase his duration for holding it over the years with some success, but the longest he could do it was four days before he passed out from the pain of the mental strain. Nino wasn’t going to give up though: he wanted to keep trying for Jun.

He wanted to do it again. Just this once before Jun left for the year. They hadn't gotten around to doing it at all this time, and Nino wanted the deep link to be his last memory for this visit. But how to go about asking Jun for it?

As he debated what to do, he didn't realize Jun had been calling his name for the past couple of minutes. He jumped when Jun decided to poke him on the side twice.

“Kazu!” Jun called. Nino looked up, and Jun had a startled look on his face. “Are you okay? Why do you look so terrified all of a sudden?” he asked in concern.

Nino couldn't take it. Surging upright, Nino wrapped his arms around Jun’s neck and crushed his lips against Jun’s. He felt Jun stiffen in surprise before responding to his advances enthusiastically.

Nino’s mind was racing as he sucked on Jun’s lower lip before plunging his tongue in Jun’s mouth. Even though the deep link was something Arashians needed, Nino felt that it was something special for him too. It was a piece of himself he wanted to give to Jun for being there.

Since his childhood, Nino had decided to never reveal his true thoughts and feelings to other people, not wanting to burden them with his troubles. As he grew older, he still retained the same beliefs. So when Jun had suggested it that one time, Nino had been terrified at what Jun could feel from him.

But what Nino wanted was for Jun to feel happy. Jun had already done so much for Nino in their relationship, and Nino wanted it to be equal between them. Nino realized that with Jun, he didn't have to be afraid. Jun accepted the negative parts of him too, the coward he was and the selfishness in him. He sometimes went into a deep link feeling afraid of the feelings Jun would know Nino held for him, but Nino tried to squash it down, knowing that Jun held the same regard for him as he did for Jun.

The deep link now meant as much to Nino as it did for Jun. _But why hasn't he asked me about it yet?_ he thought as he made a small whimpering noise in Jun’s mouth when his partner slid a hand up the back of his shirt. His mind swirled with the many different possibilities. Even though he had been reluctant in the beginning, this was something he would always willingly give to Jun now. Jun was everything to him. Jun always initiated the deep link if possible, whenever he could get it. But so far, he hadn't done anything. _Did I do something?_

When Nino was about to take it further, Jun grabbed a hold of his wrists and gently pushed them away, holding them in his hands. Nino let out a frustrated noise, refusing to look at him. He didn't want Jun to see him like this.

“Kazu, look at me please?” Jun asked gently, his thumbs circling the soft skin of Nino’s wrist. “Kazu…” He felt Jun let go of him to bring his hands to his face. Nino refused to let Jun tilt his face up.

“Stop!” he exclaimed, pushing his hands away.

Jun paused before bringing his hands down on either side of him on the couch. “Kazunari… please? May I look at you?” he asked in the most tender voice Nino had ever heard him use. That broke his resolve. He didn't push Jun away this time when he felt hands on his cheeks, tilting his face up gently.

Jun looked at him in concern, and that made him feel even worse.

“Please, Kazu, tell me what's wrong.” Nino bit his lip nervously before squaring his shoulders and gave him a stern look. _What did he have to lose?_

“Why haven't you asked me to do a deep link with you?” he blurted out, immediately regretting it when Jun gave him a bewildered look.

Jun stared at him. “... what?”

Nino felt panic building up in his chest. “A deep link. Why haven't you asked me to do it with you at all?” He didn't realize he was gripping tightly onto his shirt until Jun gently pulled it away to intertwine their fingers together in a lover’s hold.

“Kazunari, do you want to?” he asked slowly, as if he was afraid to offend him. This didn't help Nino feel any better.

“Of course I want to!” He said, frowning. “If it makes you happy— I’ll do it.”

Jun shook his head and sighed. Nino felt like his heart dropped. Why was…

“Kazu, hey, no…” Jun brushed a stray hair away from his eyes before pulling Nino in closer for a hug. Nino wrapped his arms around his lover’s neck, straddling his waist tightly. He felt Jun’s body heat, strong and steady, under his touch. “I didn't want to pry…” Jun said quietly. “I treasure your privacy a lot, and you’ve seemed really unsettled ever since I got here. Don't deny it—I know you have been,” he retorted when Nino opened his mouth to protest. “I wasn't sure if you wanted to share your mind with me.”

“Jun,” Nino said in frustration, pulling away from him to face him directly. “I thought I told you before: if you want to do a deep link, I’ll do it. I don’t mind if we do.”

“I know, I know… I just… you’re not used to being in a deep link… and I just want to respect the privacy you have in your head.”

Nino placed a soft kiss on Jun’s lips. “Thank you for that, I really appreciate it. But you don’t have to. If you want to do it, just ask. I doubt I’ll ever say no to you,” Nino said with a nod. “And I… I like it when we do,” he admitted, his face heating up. “It… it makes me feel closer to you.”

Jun grinned and brought his hand to rest at the nape of Nino’s neck. “Do you want to do it now?”

“If you want to,” he responded shyly. Jun beamed at him before gently pulling him close so that their foreheads were touching.

Nino closed his eyes and held his breath, only releasing it when he heard Jun breathe out slowly. Nino suddenly felt a rush go through his body as Jun prodded his mind for permission. Nino accepted it, letting out a small gasp as he was suddenly overwhelmed with the presence of Jun in his mind. Jun was everywhere in his head, his mind, his senses. It almost knocked him over, if not for Jun’s mental shields to block them.

‘Mental shields up,’ Jun ordered, helping Nino build them in his head. It took them several minutes to finally create shields strong enough, but once they were done, they finally let out a relaxed sigh together. Nino snuggled up closer to Jun, his feelings of happiness washing over between them, and Jun’s own happiness mixed in with his own. This was definitely one of the best deep links they ever had.

‘Oh, I agree,’ Jun said with a chuckle before he pushed something at him.

Suddenly, Nino felt a burst of arousal in his mind that immediately went straight to his groin. Letting out out a gasp, he turned to face Jun, who was smirking at him. He clenched his hands tightly in the material of the couch in front of him, when the heat wouldn’t stop. He panted as his body started to grow hot and desperate for Jun’s touch.

‘I want to finish what we started earlier,’ he said, sliding his hands up Nino’s chest, and softly pinching his nipples. Nino let out a moan. Sex during a deep link was always intense. Nino could feel his arousal and Jun’s in his mind, and it drove him crazy. Every touch, every kiss, every breath was more intense than the last. He gasped when Jun pulled him on top of him.

‘You…’ Nino panted as Jun began divesting him of his clothes.

‘Me,’ Jun said with a smirk, licking at the skin of Nino’s chest before pressing soft kisses all over. ‘Now, let’s make a memorable last day fuck.’

‘So romantic,’ Nino chuckled before leaning down to capture Jun’s lips. Nino sighed when Jun returned it. He was filled with feelings of love and kindness, and random stray thoughts (such as if he had missed anything while packing) from Jun to his mind. It fascinated Nino how Jun’s mind worked sometimes. They were different, but they got along well.

‘I live to serve,’ Jun teased before grinding against him, sending a wave of pleasure through him. Nino groaned. He was helpless against him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fun begins next chapter >:D


	4. IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooooo.... the next chapter will probably take a little longer than the previous ones to be released ^^;; Don’t worry! It won’t take too long :) Anyways, thanks again to my beta for looking this over. You’re a lifesaver. This chapter was hard…

Jun was gone.

Nino had known it was going to happen, but it didn't make the disappointment he felt any less when Jun walked past those doors at the station to go back to Arashi.

The silence in his apartment was hard to bear. This time, he knew it would be harder to get used to being alone again. _It's just never enough…_ he thought solemnly, looking at the bonsai that Jun had bought for him just before he left, complaining about how Nino didn't have enough plants in his home.

 _You better take proper care of it!_ Jun had ordered, giving him a long piece of paper written in his neat handwriting on how to care for the bonsai.

 _He even named it Momo,_ Nino thought in amusement, poking at the bonsai fondly. Sighing, Nino got up from the table and headed for his bedroom. Flopping down on top of the bed, Nino breathed in Jun’s scent from his sheets. He hadn’t washed them yet, wanting to keep a piece of Jun with him for just a while longer.

Nino had not been able to talk to Jun about their current status of their relationship. He had wanted to bring it up the entire time Jun had been here, but he had been afraid. Change was a scary thing.

He was sure Jun had caught glimpses of his feelings and thoughts when they’d done the deep link on Jun’s last night in Amnos. It was always hard for him to hide them when they did one—his shields were never strong enough to completely block Jun out.

Nino pulled the pillow closer to him. _Have to wait another year I guess…_

Didn't he always? He sighed.

 

When Nino walked into work the next morning, he was still feeling down from Jun’s departure. He tried to hide his mood the best he could from his friends, but they knew him too well. When lunch came around, Aiba had showed up at the doorway with hamburg steak take out in hand.

Aiba always bought hamburg steak when Nino was feeling down.

Aiba pulled the chair up to the side of Nino’s desk as Nino cleared his paperwork away.

“Don't say it, Masaki,” Nino said grumpily taking the box from Aiba. “I don't need to hear it.”

“But Nino, I don't understand!” Aiba exclaimed, handing his friend the plastic fork and knife next. “This could be easily solved!”

“What are you talking about?” Nino asked incredulously as he opened the container and licked his lips at the sight of the food.

“Why don't you visit Arashi on your days off?” Aiba asked. “I know you can also get several days off too. You have the leave.”

Nino glared at him. “Do you really have to ask me that?”

Aiba shrugged. “I don’t get why though. There’s medicine for your… condition. Besides, it’s not that long of a trip.”

Nino glared at him and shook his head, shoving a piece of steak in his mouth. “I can’t handle travelling by ship, you know that.”

“Have you tried after that first time to Arashi?” Aiba asked in exasperation.

“No, but I know it’s going to be the same as the last time. I’ve never been able to get over it, Masaki.” He sighed, remembering all the times he visited other planets as a child. He had always gotten really sick on the ships for some strange reason.

Aiba sighed but didn’t push the matter further, knowing he wouldn’t get anywhere with his arguments.

“You doing okay?” Aiba asked him as they were wrapping up their meal. Nino placed the lid on top of the container and shrugged.

“Same as always I guess,” he replied.

“You seem… sadder this year,” Aiba remarked. He looked at his friend worriedly. “Did something happen?”

Nino shook his head and rested his chin on his hand. “No. But the visit this year has made me realize some things about our relationship.”

“Your future?”

Nino nodded. “Sho-chan mentioned it to me first, and it got me thinking.” He sighed. “But I wasn’t able to tell him,” he grumbled.

“What did you want to talk about?”

“Us. Our relationship, the future.” He shrugged. “Mostly about the future… maybe children.”

Aiba gasped. “Are you planning to adopt?!”

Nino rolled his eyes. “We haven't even talked about children or having a family.” _Huh,_ he noted. So Ohno hadn't told Aiba about Jun’s ability to conceive. Although, he supposed that would make sense since Ohno was a doctor.

“Not even once?!” Aiba exclaimed in astonishment. “Seriously?! But you've been together for _years!_ ”

“It just never came up! And we did talk about it once!” Nino huffed. “We just didn't talk about it… after that.” He fiddled with the pen on his desk in resignation.

“Wow… eight years and you guys haven’t talked about it though…” Aiba said in disbelief.

“I know. We messed up there.” Nino sighed. “Clearly, it’s too late to bring it up now. I want to speak to him about it in person.”

Aiba patted Nino on the shoulder. “I hope it works out—your talk I mean.”

Nino sent his friend a weak smile. “Thanks, Masaki.”

They fell into a comfortable silence before Nino broke it by asking, “So what’s the deal with you and Oh-chan?”

Aiba tensed before his posture deflated. Nino noted how his mood had completely changed at the mention of Ohno’s name. _Not good, eh?_ He thought worriedly. He was starting to wonder if there were more issues to the relationship than he thought.

“It’s… I don’t know what to make of it,” Aiba finally said. “I don’t know anymore.” He was mumbling to himself.

Nino frowned. “What do you mean?”

Aiba shook his head and got up. He sent Nino a friendly smile, trying to mask his feelings. Nino wasn’t fooled. “Don’t worry about it, Nino-chan! I’ll figure it out eventually.” He moved to walk to the door, but Nino quickly grabbed a hold of his friend’s sleeve.

“Masaki,” Nino said. “If you need to talk, you know I’m here, right?” He tried to fight a blush that was trying to form on his cheeks when he said that.

Aiba beamed and leaned down to pull Nino into a hug. “I know! Thanks, Nino-chan!”

Nino patted his friend on the back, still unsure of what to think of his friend’s relationship with the other Arashian. _Well, not much at the moment,_ Nino thought as he waved at Aiba when he left the office. He really needed to figure out what those two were doing. He made a mental note to give Jun a call tonight. But first, he had work to do.

Nino groaned and picked up the document he was working on earlier. _More treaties…_ he thought with a grimace. He hoped that Jun was at least having more fun than he was at the moment.

 

Jun was not feeling well.

Usually it wasn't anything to be concerned about, especially if it was only for a few days… but it had been almost three weeks since he’d started feeling this way, and Jun was annoyed and a little unsettled.

Arashians rarely got sick: it was hard for them to be. While their immune systems were strong, this didn't mean they were invincible—many Arashians still caught colds, and they suffered terribly from it, but it was rare. They didn't get sick as much as other races did—especially Amnosians, where some of them seemed to get sick every few months.

It started a week after Jun left Amnos from his annual visit. At first, it had been just an uncomfortable feeling his his abdomen, a small cramp that didn't really upset him during his daily activities. He thought that maybe he had eaten something that didn’t agree with him on Amnos (it wouldn’t have been the first time either). It was a bit unusual for it to last that long, but Jun had also just assumed that maybe it was his body adjusting to the air in Arashi after being in the Amnosian heat for three weeks.

Except… the cramps continued for the rest of the first week and they had only started to subside yesterday evening. Then, starting from last week, Jun started having bouts of tiredness during the day. He tried to get more sleep every night, and it had worked for a little bit, but then the tiredness would just hit him full force again during the day. Jun tried to get as much sleep as he could when that happened, but he always felt drained. Was he working too much?

The army was currently working overtime since they recently had an influx of recruits from their own people and other races that wanted to learn more about Arashian combative skills for defense. These races were from small planets that had little to no defense against invaders, and the government of Arashi had wanted to aid them. Jun had been busy making training schedules and overseeing schedules for his own soldiers with his vice captain, and meeting with the other captains to train the foreign soldiers. He had been working hard the past few weeks. It was hard to train foreign races when you weren’t familiar with their skills and capabilities. Adding in the fact that he was exhausted every night, Jun hardly had time for a breather.

Needless to say, Jun was starting to get annoyed. _I wonder if I caught the flu or something?_ He thought, as he was making his way to work. It was starting to affect his performance at work— it wasn't noticeable yet, but it eventually would be.

The walk to the base wasn't that far, but Jun was almost dragging his feet as he walked, feeling completely exhausted. He lived in an apartment complex close to the military base he was stationed at. When he had been given the choice to have his own quarters at the base or find a place of his own, Jun opted for a place of his own. While he loved his job, he didn't want to be reminded of it every day and every hour. He was thankful he had chosen his apartment—It gave him privacy and people bothered him less. His friend, Ohno, lived on the same floor as him, a few doors down. _I should probably make an appointment with him soon,_ Jun thought as he made his way past the gates.

Jun had met Ohno when he was in his last year of the mandatory military training that every young Arashian had to do. When male and female Arashians came of age at 18 years old, they were required to enroll into mandatory military training for two years. The military training was intense, often requiring the utmost dedication from the young trainees everyday as they trained their bodies and mind to be the best. Most Arashians went on to pursue post-secondary education when the two years were finished, unless they wanted to continue their training and enlist officially in the military.

Serving the remaining last few months of his training, Jun knew he wanted to pursue a path in the Storm Forces.

It had never been a question for him. Jun had decided to enroll in the military right after he’d finished his mandatory training. His family had been supportive of his choice, and Jun was grateful.

His first meeting with his friend had happened when he’d accidentally injured himself during a drill. Cursing himself for his carelessness, Jun had headed over to the infirmary to get himself checked.

_Jun grimaced at his wrist, holding it in his other hand as he tried to ignore the throbbing pain. It wasn't too painful, but it was an annoyance, one that Jun didn't need to have at the moment._

_Jun sighed as he made himself comfortable on the bed as he waited for the doctor to arrive. It was busy today because of the new batches of trainees arriving today. They had to get checked and do health tests to determine which unit they were going to be assigned to. Most of the doctors were occupied with that task, the receptionist had told him, so it was going to be a small wait to see the doctor._

_Jun didn't mind. He didn't exactly have anything else to do today except for his training, but that was out the window when he’d injured his wrist. Grumbling to himself, Jun’s head snapped up when the door to the room opened._

_Jun stared. The doctor that entered the room was… well, he wasn't expecting someone like this. He fought a blush that threatened to appear on his cheeks. He was cute! The doctor looked young—close to his mid-twenties—and he was shorter than Jun. Despite his smaller stature, Jun could see the toned muscles beneath the doctor’s blue uniform. He was very cute, and Jun felt himself getting nervous at being checked by him._

_When he felt a prod in his mind, Jun immediately let the doctor in his mind and quickly increased the strength of his mental shields. He didn’t want him to hear any embarrassing thoughts._

_‘Hello,’ the doctor said, giving him a soft smile. When the doctor fully turned to face him, he noticed that the other male was wearing a gold badge—he was still in training. ‘My name is Ohno Satoshi. But you can just call me Satoshi instead of tacking on the Resident in front. No need for titles.’_

_Jun quickly averted his eyes. And Ohno had such a pleasant voice! ’Y-yes,’ he stammered, immediately cursing himself after. Why did he have to be so nervous?! He stayed silent as Ohno came to sit down in front of him._

Oh, he smells nice, _Jun thought absentmindedly when Ohno pushed the chair closer so that they were an arm’s length apart. Ohno smelled like baby powder, strangely enough._ Does he care for infants too? _Jun thought in confusion._

_‘According to the report, your wrist is injured, Trainee Jun?’ Ohno asked, looking down at the file in front of him, reading what the nurse had written down earlier._

_Jun blushed and nodded. ‘Yes. I injured it during a drill.’_ He probably thinks I'm an idiot, _he thought with a grimace as Ohno placed the file down on the desk and turned to him, holding two hands out with his palms facing up._

_‘May I see?’ Ohno asked politely, giving him a gentle smile that had his heart beating faster. Jun hoped his palms weren’t too sweaty as he slowly gave his wrist to Ohno. The other man carefully checked his wrist, watching Jun’s expression as he inspected it._

_When they were finally done and Jun had received some medicine for the pain and to hasten the healing, Jun was ready to get out of there and never appear in front of Ohno again. The entire ordeal had been embarrassing—he could still feel Ohno’s gentle fingers on his skin._

_Unfortunately for him, after that day, he had kept running into the trainee doctor. Ohno had recognized him from that day in the infirmary and had struck up a conversation with him, which really didn’t help the budding crush he had on Ohno. It also didn't help that Ohno seemed to seek him out when he was free. Jun didn't have the heart to push him away. He allowed himself to see Ohno more often, cursing himself for the crush that wouldn’t stop growing._

Thankfully, his crush had been ephemeral because Jun had eventually realized that Ohno made a better friend for him than anything in the romantic sense. They were too different from each other even if they did get along, Jun had realized back then.

Besides, it was nice to have someone who was like an older brother he never had. Jun loved his older sister, but it was different having a brother compared to a sister.

After Ohno had graduated and officially become a doctor, Ohno had stayed in the military and worked at his base’s infirmary. Jun had moved on to officially enlist himself in the Storm Forces and the rest was history.

Since then, Ohno had taken on the role of being Jun’s doctor. Jun refused to go to anyone else unless he had to. Unfortunately, due to the nature of his friend’s job, Ohno was busy running around all the time, caring for the sick and wounded. Jun only got to see him when their lunch breaks aligned (which was rare). All in all, their friendship had stayed strong for more than a decade, and Jun was grateful for it. He confided in Ohno a lot, and he talked about his relationship with Nino to Ohno often.

 _I wonder if he’s done a deep link with Aiba-kun?_ Jun wondered suddenly, as he continued walking through the grounds to his office. Based on the conversations he’d had with Ohno, Jun knew that Ohno really liked the Amnosian man a lot. He wasn’t exactly sure how serious they were however. Ohno told him things about their relationship, but Jun still didn’t know much. Ohno wasn’t the type to share unless prompted. _Like Aiba-kun,_ Jun thought fondly, thinking of his Amnosian friend. He hadn’t expected for the two of them to hit it off so well, but he was happy for them.

Anyway, he was busy with the new recruits. There was no time to see Ohno even if he wanted to. _It should be fine…_ he thought as he made his way past the gates. He didn’t want to bother his friend to check him just because he was feeling tired. Ohno was pretty busy these days too, having to make sure that the new recruits weren’t overexerting themselves. _It’s not too important,_ Jun thought with a frown. It had to go away eventually… right?

He wished.

A week later, Jun felt even worse. Not only was he feeling tired all the time, Jun was experiencing some major mood swings. He tried to keep it under control at work, but it was hard to when he felt like snapping at subordinates one moment, and then feeling completely depressed with his ability to train them the next. There were also times when Jun would be amused by something and then he would feel his mood go down. The sudden mood changes alarmed him, and he knew he had to see Ohno soon because it wasn’t normal.

Unfortunately, Jun had been swamped with work left and right for the past couple of weeks since his return. He just didn’t have time to even drop by and say hi to his friend at all, only greeting Ohno when they happened to pass each other in the hallways.

 _Soon,_ Jun thought as he ran faster. _When this month calms down…_

Too bad he didn’t account for the passing out part at the end of the next week however.

 

_Why does my body feel so heavy?_

The first thing he realized when he came to, was that he was lying in a bed. The second was that his body felt unusually heavy all over. Like someone was pushing him down on the bed and holding him there. He flinched when he felt a hand placed firmly on his chest.

‘Careful.’ Ohno’s calm voice reverberated in his mind. ‘Don't get up too fast.’

‘Where am I? What happened?’ Jun asked groggily, trying to make sense of why he was in the infirmary. The last thing he remembered was being out in the field overseeing the training of the foreign soldiers with Captain Shota.

‘You fainted, Jun.’

Slowly blinking his eyes open, he winced when the light hit his eyes. He heard Ohno sigh and there was some rustling before the light was turned off, coating the room in darkness.

‘How do you feel?’ Ohno asked, taking a seat beside the bed. Jun looked over at him tiredly, still trying to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness.

‘Tired,’ he said wearily. ‘Heavy. Did I actually faint?’

Ohno nodded and then sent him a piercing look that startled him. He looked annoyed.

‘What?’ Jun asked dumbfounded.

‘Jun, are you an idiot?’ Ohno asked in frustration. Jun blinked at him owlishly.

‘What... did I do?’

‘Why didn't you come to see me earlier?!’ he asked angrily, his eyes narrowed into a glare.

‘Huh?’

Jun had no idea why Ohno was mad at him. Why was Ohno acting like this? All the years Jun known him, Ohno had hardly ever raised his voice at him. It was rare to hear the older male yell.

‘Why didn’t you come see me earlier?!’ he asked again, this time his tone harsh.

‘I was just tired the past few weeks!’ Jun cried in defence, ‘it's hardly anything to worry about!’

‘That makes things worse! You shouldn’t be overexerting yourself!’ Ohno snapped back.

‘Yeah,’ Jun groused, ‘but I have my duties, Satoshi. I can’t abandon them.’ Seriously, why was Ohno acting this way?

Ohno narrowed his eyes at him and shook his head. ‘That's not the point, Jun. I’m not saying you should.’ He leaned back against the chair and looked pointedly at Jun’s stomach, crossing his arms across his chest and said, ‘I’m saying you should've came to me as soon as you knew you were pregnant.’

What.

Ohno continued, ‘You know how unhealthy it is to not see a doctor after the second week of conception. It's dangerous. Jun, you should know better.’ His friend sent him a disapproving look.

Jun gripped the sheets of the bed tightly. _Pregnant?_ Jun thought, his mind racing. No, it was impossible. There was no way.

‘Honestly! Were you so busy with work that you couldn’t get checked?’ Ohno continued, ‘I thought you would have some sense to come see me when you knew you were pregnant!’

Jun’s mind was spinning. He was actually pregnant? He tied to stamp down the ball of nausea that was forming in his chest. How could he be pregnant? _There's no way I can be pregnant!_ He screamed in his mind.

‘Jun?’ Ohno asked in concern when Jun began breathing rapidly, his eyes round as he tried to register what Ohno said in his mind. ‘Jun!’

‘I can't be pregnant! It was still July!’ Jun cried. He could feel his heart beating faster as he began to panic. _Nonononono…_

Ohno moved to help him sit up and placed a hand over the right side of his chest, feeling the fast and rapid heartbeat in his chest. ‘Jun, calm down.’ Ohno said in a soothing voice. ‘Breathe. In… and out…’ Jun did as he was told. They continued this for a couple of minutes before Jun’s breathing began to even out. When he finally calmed down, Ohno pulled his hand back. Jun groaned and placed his hands over his face. ‘What do you mean?’ Ohno asked, ‘your season is in August, right?’

‘Late August,’ Jun said with a groan. ‘How can I be pregnant when we last had sex in July?’ he asked in disbelief, clutching his head with his hands.

Ohno frowned and sat back against the chair.

‘He's going to be so angry,’ Jun said in a devastated tone, realizing how badly he’d messed up. Nino had always been careful. And the one time they decided not to be, Jun had gotten pregnant. Pregnant. He was carrying a child—their child. _We don't even live together! How can we raise a child this way?_ he thought incredulously.

‘Why would he be angry? Shouldn't he be happy?’ Ohno asked, his brow furrowed as Jun seemed to get even more distressed.

Jun pulled his hands away from his face and turned to Ohno with a look of frustration. ‘I told him not to use protection on the night before I left. He always insists on it, but if I went in July, there was no need. I don't understand how this could have happened!’ he exclaimed angrily, glaring down at his hands. Nino was always careful about using protection when they made love. His lover was going to be disappointed in himself when he found out that Jun had gotten pregnant.

Ohno sighed and scratched the side of his nose. Jun secretly wondered how his friend could be so calm at all this. _Well,_ Jun thought in annoyance, _not like he has to worry about getting pregnant._ ‘Let’s retrace your steps,’ Ohno suggested. ‘I think I have an idea of how it happened but…’ he trailed off looking at Jun thoughtfully. ‘The night you had sex without protection,’ he said slowly, ‘tell me what happened. No need for full details,’ he added quickly.

Jun looked at him in bemusement before placing his head in his hands again as he recalled that night. ‘We made a deep link—’ he snapped his head up and looked at Ohno with wide eyes. ‘Do you think—’

Ohno bit his lip. ‘That may be one possibility, but there might be other factors involved. What do you think happened?’

Jun tried to fight off a blush as he explained to Ohno the events of his last day in Amnos. ‘We made a deep link, and it eventually progressed to intercourse. However, this time, I asked Kazu to… to penetrate me.’ He felt his face heating up as he explained to Ohno.

Ohno nodded, hardly looking affected. He looked thoughtful at the explanation and rubbed his chin with his fingers. ‘I've read studies about Arashians who’ve conceived out of their seasons,’ Ohno began, turning to meet Jun’s gaze. ‘Most of the cases were similar to yours. They didn't see their lovers for a long time, and when they had sex, they ended up pregnant, even though their season hadn't come yet.’

Jun looked at him in disbelief. Was it really as simple as that? He must've had a really strong expression of disbelief on his face because Ohno immediately said, ‘I know the reasoning is weird, but your type of scenario isn't really all that uncommon. The studies involved male Arashians who were able to bear children like you.’

Jun snorted. This was absurd. ‘So you're saying… my body missed Kazunari so much it decided to knock itself up?!’ he exclaimed hysterically. ‘How does that make sense?!’ Jun could not accept that as the reason. He’d always had regular seasons—they’d come at the same time every year since he was 16. They weren’t suppose to come earlier or later, it just didn’t happen. There was no way it could be that because his body “missed” Nino.

Ohno shrugged. ‘I would say yes, and the fact that you did a deep link with him also helped your body go into an earlier shift. The body is mysterious even though we study it to the best of our abilities.’

Jun felt dizzy again. So that was why he had been feeling under the weather for the past few weeks. Pregnant. Jun had never thought about children after his talk with Nino, putting it down as something they would eventually discuss again in the future. They never had, and Jun had wondered over the years if Nino was interested in starting a family. Nino had never expressed interest in having his own children after that day, most of his future goals pertaining to work. Jun had wondered if it was because he never mentioned it to Nino. Every time he thought to bring it up, he would always back down, afraid that he would scare his lover off.

 _And it's not like he's bad with children either,_ Jun thought, recalling the times he saw Nino with his niece and nephews. Nino was good with kids—they liked him. _But does he want his own?_ he thought miserably, afraid of the answer.

Jun had always wanted a family of his own growing up.

Ever since he found out that he could get pregnant at the age of 16, Jun knew that he would want to bear children one day if his lover wasn't a female. It wasn't like it was a taboo on Arashi—the fact that males were able to bear children. Arashians treasured every birth they had. For Jun, It didn't matter if he or his lover would carry the child. Whether or not he took a male or female lover, he just wanted to be part of the experience.

Jun knew that he eventually would want to start a family after he settled into his military career and found someone he truly loved and cared for.

Nino was that person.

When they entered their third year together as a couple, Jun knew he’d made the right choice in making a deep link with Nino when he visited him for the second time in Amnos. He knew that Nino was the one he wanted to be with for the rest of his life, and to be the father of his children. But after their conversation about families and children, Jun had really wondered if Nino wanted the same.

 _Why didn't we talk about this earlier?!_ He growled in frustration. He wished he had brought it up because he really had no idea if Nino wanted to start a family. When they talked about it that first time, they had been too young to think about children. Adding in the fact that they didn't even live together, he had no idea how his lover was going to take the news.

And that was the problem.

How was Nino going to take the news when Jun told him? He didn't think his lover would react too poorly to the announcement—they’d stayed together for eight years for a reason. But somehow, Jun couldn't see Nino being very thrilled about the idea of being a father in his head. It was a depressing thought.

‘Jun,’ Ohno called softly, pulling him away from his thoughts. ‘What are you going to do? You need to be with Nino right now. You know you can’t be away from him for too long. A month is already stretching it.’

Jun nodded. Ohno was right. An Arashian pregnancy was tough on the body, especially for a male Arashian—it was physically and mentally draining. The presence of their lover usually helped make the pregnancy a little easier to bear. Since Arashians were a telepathic race, the child needed the presence of both parents near them. While it was the responsibility of the mother (the one who carried the child) to feed the child the nutrients they needed, the father was responsible for the telepathic side of things—they communicated with the child and provided emotional support. Arashian children needed the presence of both parents in order to grow strong for the next six months.

Jun paled. Six months. How was he going to get through the next six months if Nino didn't want the child? There was always the choice of finding a substitute parent… but that would still make things difficult, especially if Jun didn’t want to have a deep link with that person. He jumped when he felt a hand on his thigh.

‘Don't jump to conclusions.‘ Ohno said sternly. ‘We don't know what his reaction will be.’ Jun blushed. Was he broadcasting this thoughts that loudly? Ohno shook his head and smiled at him fondly. ‘No, your mental shields are strong. But your emotions are all over your face, and it's easy to read.’ He chuckled when Jun scowled at him. ‘How soon can you go to Amnos?’ Ohno asked.

Jun tried to recall the rest of his work schedule. He felt a headache forming when he thought about all the schedules, and trainings, and meetings, and…

‘No,’ Ohno said, shaking his head. ‘You’re not going to be doing that.’

Jun made a panicked noise. He couldn't just drop everything! Ohno sent him an unamused look. ‘As your doctor, you are unfit to continue working since you’re pregnant. I will speak to your superiors after you leave the infirmary about taking leave.’

‘But—’

‘No buts. Doctor’s orders.’

Jun sighed, knowing his friend was right. He couldn’t continue working even if he wanted to. He had to physically be with Nino for the rest of his pregnancy. Ohno nodded.

‘I’ll try to speak to them today, and see if we can get approval for your leave. The sooner the better. you’ve been away from Nino for too long,’ he told him. ‘You do want him for the pregnancy, right?’

Jun flinched. ‘Of course!’ he exclaimed. Ohno patted him on the thigh.

‘Just checking. If you didn’t, I would have told you to go home to your family. For now, I can provide some support, but it’s still not going to be enough,’ Ohno said, getting up from his chair.

‘Will you be coming with me?’ Jun asked tiredly as he watched Ohno move around the room.

‘At this point, I believe so,’ Ohno replied with a frown. ‘Unless Nino decides to come here, I will be going with you to oversee the rest of your pregnancy.’

Jun frowned. ‘Will that be okay? I don’t want—’

Ohno dismissed his concerns with a wave of his hand. ‘It’s fine, Jun. Don’t worry about it. My coworkers can take over some of the workload for the next six months anyways.’ Jun groaned. Right, six months. ‘Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.’

‘I hope so.’

‘It'll be okay,’ Ohno said, walking over to him and giving him a reassuring grin. ‘And Nino won't reject you or the child when he finds out Don't worry so much, Jun. Have a little faith.’ Jun sighed and nodded.

It was going to be a rocky six months.

 

‘How do you feel?’ Ohno asked Jun, when they were sitting on the ship en route to Amnos a few days later.

They were finally going to Amnos. It was much later than Ohno would have liked, but Jun couldn’t do anything about that. There were a lot of tasks and responsibilities he had to assign to his team. Ohno had gotten permission to go along with Jun to Amnos as his personal doctor for the remainder of the pregnancy. Jun wondered if Ohno had told Aiba he was coming.

He and Ohno had been given a private room on the ship for the duration of the trip, courtesy of Colonel Ryoko. When Jun had told her he was pregnant, she had been (really) excited for him, saying that it was finally time he had a family of his own. She had been so thrilled for him that she had purchased the room for him under the battalion’s funds. He had tried to refuse the room, but she refused to have any of it, saying that Jun had done a lot for the battalion and that it was time Jun did something for himself.

 _If getting pregnant is something I did for myself,_ he thought grumpily before turning to Ohno and shrugged.

‘I’m okay. Just… tired,’ he said.

Ohno nodded and sat down on his bed. ‘That’s normal. Let me know if anything changes.’ He gestured towards his bag of medical supplies.

Jun nodded and went to lay down on his bed, facing towards the wall. Before he’d left for the trip, he had lied to Nino and told him that he wouldn’t be able to talk to him for a couple of days due to work. Nino had accepted it, and told him to call him as soon as he was free. Jun curled in closer to himself.

He didn’t know why he hadn't told Nino before he left. _It's probably best to break the news to him… in person,_ Jun thought. He had no idea how it was going to go. Jun was hoping the outcome would be positive at least. They definitely needed to have a long talk about what they were going to do about their relationship before the baby was born.

Still, Jun couldn't help but have some small semblance of hope that everything would work out in the end. Jun hoped that the child would eventually help them finally _be_ together. Eight years of a long-distance relationship was hard. Jun knew that Nino was getting tired of the distance as well. Nino didn't say anything, but when they had done the deep link, he was able to feel and hear his lover’s feelings about their current situation.

 _Maybe the child will help us live together,_ Jun thought optimistically for once. If Nino accepted the child, Jun hoped that they would be able to work something else out between them. There was no way they could live apart like how they were at the moment if the child was born. He didn't want the child to grow up with one parent and constantly travelling between planets. Eventually, one of them would have to move residence.

 _It's too early to think about that…_ Jun grabbed the covers from the bottom of the bed and pulled them over himself.

First, he had to deal with his main problem: Nino.

 

When Ohno and Jun arrived at the station, Ohno had offered to stay with Jun until Nino arrived to pick him up. Jun had declined and told him to go ahead first, and that he would call his friend later. Ohno had been reluctant to leave him alone, but Jun had been adamant. Jun had nodded in exasperation when Ohno had forced him to contact him when he was picked up by Nino. After that, Ohno had gone and phoned Aiba to come pick him up. Watching his friend go, Jun looked down at his own phone and sighed before unlocking his portable device to call Nino.

Close to an hour later, Nino arrived at the station. When Nino placed a hand on his elbow, he immediately felt better. Everything was less fuzzy, and his senses turned sharp when Nino pushed up against him. Nino’s close proximity was helping him feel normal again.

He could feel the confusion and nervousness radiating off from his lover. Jun couldn’t blame him for that—he had literally just shown up out of the blue and called Nino to pick him up from the station. Nino had been confused when he picked up the call, but hadn’t questioned it.

The car ride home had been silent, Jun wasn't in the mood to make conversation since he was too busy trying to figure out how he would break the news of the pregnancy to Nino. He tried to avoid eye contact with him the entire time, not even glancing in his direction the entire time. Nino had read the situation and didn’t try to talk to him— Jun was grateful for that.

Jun still didn’t say anything when they got to Nino’s apartment. Jun dropped his bag on the floor—he packed light. If he was successful in breaking the news to Nino, he would buy the rest of the things he needed in Amnos.

Nino headed over to the kitchen and grabbed a glass cup, pouring himself water from the filter. Jun shuffled his way over to the couch, looking down at his hands in his lap. He heard Nino take a seat at the dining table across the room from him. The room was blanketed in complete silence, save for the tiny sounds of Nino sipping on his drink.

The awkward silence between continued for a little longer. When Jun finally mustered up the courage to say something, Nino had already beaten him to it.

“Are you breaking up with me?” Nino asked quietly.

“What?!” Jun finally snapped his gaze up at him in shock. What was Nino saying? Where was this coming from?!

“I said, are you breaking up with me?” he repeated, this time in a softer voice. “If so, I wouldn't blame you…”

Jun didn't think it was possible for Nino to look even smaller than he was. His lover was slouching, making himself looking tinier and he looked devastated. Jun felt hurt and angry; did Nino really think that he would end something that meant a lot to him? And what did he mean that he wouldn't blame him?

“How can you think that?!” Jun yelled angrily, getting up from the couch. “ _Why_ would you say that?!”

Did Nino think that, after years, _years_ of being together that he would destroy it all just like that? He refused to flinch when Nino got up from his seat, his face scrunched in anger and _hurt._

“I don't know what to think!” Nino hollered angrily, his hands balled up into fists at his side. “I don’t think you would do that to me but I also think it’s a huge possibility! You won't even _look_ at me right now!” Nino flopped back down on the chair looking miserable and pulled his legs up, wrapping his arms around them. “You lied to me,” he said quietly, his voice wavering. “You lied to me about work, and then you showed up without notifying me you were coming. You haven't even looked at me since you asked me to pick you up from the station—haven’t looked me in the eye. So what are you hiding, Jun?”

“Kazu—”Jun tried to protest but Nino shook his head and held out a hand.

“Then you come to my apartment and you don’t say anything. When I mentioned us breaking up, that was when you actually looked at me.” Jun noticed how tired Nino looked. _Work must be stressful,_ Jun thought worriedly. All he wanted to do was run up to his lover and hold him tight in his arms. “I don't know what to think, Jun. I'm scared and I'm nervous, and I'm this close to freaking out because I don’t know what to expect from you.” Nino let out a shaky breath and reached for his glass of water again.

“Kazunari, no!” Jun was speechless. He didn’t realize his behavior would look like that to Nino. Jun was nervous, but his nervousness came off as aloofness to his lover. He needed to clear up the misunderstanding fast. “It’s nothing like that!” Nino looked a little comforted by that, but still had a troubled expression on his face. “Trust me, it’s _nothing_ like what you think,” Jun said adamantly.

Nino sighed and twisted the glass in his hand. “So what is it then? Not that I mind you staying here or showing up out of the blue… but it is very strange.” He stared down at his glass like it held the answers to everything that was happening.

Jun hesitated. How was he going to break the news to Nino? Just say it? Ease into it? He didn't know how he would announce it. He’d thought long and hard on the ship and on the car ride home, but Jun still hadn't made a decision on how he was going to tell Nino.

“Jun…?”

Nino frowned and stood up from his chair. Jun could hear him making his way closer to him. His gaze remained rooted to the ground. How was he going to break it to him?

“Jun, what's wrong?” Nino asked again, softer this time as he was getting closer. Jun took a deep breath. He just had to go for it and say it directly because he wasn't getting anywhere with his plans at this point.

“I'm pregnant.”

The silence was deafening until he heard glass shatter on the floor. He quickly looked up in alarm, wondering if Nino had gotten hurt.

Nino gaped at him, his mouth wide open, and his eyes boggled. “What?” he rasped.

Jun eyed the broken glass on the floor. He didn't like how dangerously close the shattered pieces were to Nino’s feet. “Kazu, step back, you're standing too close to the glass.”

Nino immediately took a step back, his eyes never wavering from Jun’s face. “What did you say?” he whispered in shock.

Jun slowly got up from the chair, avoiding the broken glass. _Need to clean it up later,_ he thought absentmindedly as he turned towards his lover. Nino backed up as he took a step towards him. Jun felt his heart drop.

“Kazu, I'm pregnant.,” he said again. There was no point in beating around the bush at this point.

Nino instantly paled. “What do you mean?!” he asked in a frantic tone. “How can you be pregnant?! Isn't your season in August?!”

Jun fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. This wasn't starting off well. “Um… about that…”

“Jun,” Nino said, looking at him with wide eyes. “You can't be pregnant!”

“I am…” He admitted quietly, averting his gaze to the floor. So there he had it: Nino didn't want this child. He startled when Nino grabbed his arm.

“How can you be pregnant?! Was this from the last day?” He asked, his voice taking on a hysterical tone. “Is it mine?!”

Jun flinched and slapped Nino’s hand away, looking at him in bewilderment. Nino gaped at him and immediately reached out for him again.

“No—I mean—”

“Of course the kid is yours!” Jun shouted, feeling the hurt and anger build up in him. “Why wouldn't it be yours?!” What was Nino saying?

Nino shook his head frantically and tried to reach for Jun again. “No! I didn't mean it like that—” He looked flustered, but Jun was too angry to care.

“Then what do you mean, Kazunari?!” Jun glared at him. Nino stood stock-still as Jun continued to yell. “Do you think I would lie about something like this? You're the only one I have ever been with, want to be with! I'm a month pregnant, and I came to you because I wanted you to be with me. I'm scared too, do you think I'm not?!” Nino gaped at him as Jun advanced closer, anger radiating off him like waves. “I didn't know what to think when Satoshi told me I was pregnant! I certainly didn't plan on it, but it happened!”

“Jun—”

“And I had hoped,” Jun continued, ignoring Nino’s attempt to speak. “I hoped that you would accept it too. Six months,” he pleaded, his voice shaking. “Six months is all I'm asking for and I'll be out of your hair,” Jun said, trying to avoid Nino’s gaze. He didn't want to see the rejection in his lover’s eyes. “We can break up if you want, but all I need is to be with you for six more months.” Jun was getting desperate. What if Nino said yes? He couldn't survive six months (or the rest of his life) without Nino.

“What are you talking about?!” Nino hollered, staring up at him in shock. “Who said anything about breaking up now?!”

“You don't seem happy about the pregnancy at all!” Jun hollered back, feeling tears at the corner of his eyes. _Ugh, why do I have to get so emotional?!_ “I know we never talked about it… but I really want this child!” He could feel his mental walls breaking down as he continued to speak. “Kazunari, I want this child… I want us to be parents together.” Nino froze. “I thought about it… and I think that this wasn't an accident. It was meant to happen. There was a reason for it to happen,” he said with utmost conviction.

Nino bit his lip. “Jun, are we… are we actually ready for this? I'm not— I’m not a good parent. I don't know how to—”

The crack in Nino’s voice was hard to bear. Suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the entire situation and the _need_ to hold Nino close to him, Jun pulled him into his arms. He could feel Nino shaking as he wrapped his arms around him. His lover was terrified. “Kazu, you're good,” Jun tried to say reassuringly. “I've seen you with your nephews and nieces. You're good with them.”

Nino sniffed. “I don't know if it’s enough for my child— our child.” He tilted his head up to meet Jun’s eyes. “I don't want to mess things up…” he whispered in a frightened tone.

“You won't,” Jun said sternly. “You'll have me to mess things up with.”

“That's not reassuring,” Nino mumbled but he was smiling now.

“And we have the support of our friends,” Jun continued. “And our family. We won't be alone in this, Kazu.” Jun clung onto Nino tighter. “Everything will work out.” He let out a shaky breath. “Just please… please don't push me away.”

Nino growled and glared up at Jun. “Why would I push you away?! Why do you keep talking like that? I love you!” His eyes softened and he reached up to cradle Jun’s cheeks in his hands. “I'm not going to leave you alone, okay? I'm scared, yes. But I'll never leave you, unless you want me to.”

“I was just so worried…” Jun mumbled, “I didn't know how you would react to the news. We've never talked about it…”

Nino made a frustrated noise. “I know. That was actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Sho-chan asked me about what our plans were for our relationship in the next few years… I didn't know. Then I realized I didn't want to continue doing what we are doing anymore.”

Jun tightened his hold on Nino. “What do you mean?”

Nino shook his head. “I just don't want to do this long-distance thing anymore,” Nino replied. “When you were gone last year… I realized how much I really missed you. And then when you came in July, I came to the conclusion that I don't want us to keep doing this anymore.” Jun pulled them towards the living room. Nino sighed as he followed him onto the couch, curling up around him when they sat down. “I don't want us to be apart anymore. I'm tired of missing you everyday.”

“Kazu…” Jun felt the same. That was why he was hoping that their child would eventually help them solve the issue. It wasn't going to be easy. “I don't want to be apart from you either,” he said placing a soft kiss on his lover’s forehead. “I want us to live together.”

Nino pursed his lips. “We have to figure something out when the child is born. I don't..” he shuffled to look at Jun and shook his head. “I don't want us to live apart and raise our child like that. I want them to grow up with both parents.”

Jun thought his heart was going to burst out of his chest. Every time Nino said “our child,” he felt happy. Jun nodded. “Yes, I agree. We’ll figure something out,” he said optimistically.

Nino chuckled and wrapped his arms tighter around Jun. “Yes, we will,” he agreed quietly.

Jun felt elated. Nino wanted this child—their child—with him. Nino was willing to try for their child. He could see how frightened Nino was about the future, and he was too, but they could overcome it. Jun had faith.

“So how did you get pregnant anyway?” Nino asked after a moment of silence between them. Jun was beginning to feel normal by being this close to Nino. His senses weren't fuzzy anymore, and he felt more clear-headed. “If your season is in late August…?”

“I don't really know… but… Satoshi thinks that it might have been a couple of factors,” Jun replied, nosing at Nino’s neck. He’d missed Nino’s scent so much. Nino giggled when Jun began to lick at the skin of Nino’s neck, wanting to taste him.

“What are they?” Nino twisted his body to face him and pushed Jun down so that he was lying on top of him. He snuggled close against him, letting out a happy sigh. Jun smiled down at him and ran a hand through his lover’s hair.

“The first one we proposed was that it was the deep link that helped made it possible,” Jun said, thinking back to his conversation with Ohno several days ago.

“The deep link?” Nino asked in confusion. Jun nodded.

“Yeah. And another reason that Ohno believed that made it possible was because my body… missed you.” Jun grimaced at the ceiling.

Nino sputtered. “W-what?!”

Jun sighed. “I had the same reaction. Apparently there are cases where the body goes into season earlier because the… person misses their lover. Apparently, my body—me—missed you so it started earlier than usual. The deep link we did helped it escalate even further.” Nino stared at him in amazement. “So that's our theory. It's not too far-fetched… if the main cause was because of the deep link.”

“Can a deep link really do that?” Nino asked in wonder. Jun shrugged.

“I don’t know. But now that I think about it, it’s probably not entire impossible.” Jun blinked. The deep link was something sacred to Arashians, and while they studied it as much as they could, it was hard to explain how it truly worked.

“Wow. Arashians are weird,” Nino said in astonishment, blinking owlishly.

Jun snorted. “Like Amnosians are any better,” he teased, pinching Nino’s nose, receiving a loud protest from the man. “Refractory periods…” he shook his head. “You guys are strange.”

“Hey!” Nino pouted. “Just because we can't go as long as you—mmh!”

Jun swiped his tongue across Nino’s lip, asking permission for access before plunging his tongue in his lover’s mouth when he granted him access. Nino moaned and let Jun take what he needed. After a month apart, Jun needed him. Nino’s smaller body on top of his was all he wanted. His touch, his taste, his scent… Jun wanted all of it.

“Someone's excited,” Nino chuckled as he let Jun pull off his clothes. He shivered when his bare skin hit the cold air of the apartment. Jun grunted and reached for Nino’s pants next. He wanted everything off.

“Don't want to wait any longer,” Jun mumbled, fiddling with Nino’s pants zipper before pulling them down along with his underwear. “It's been too long.”

“We’ve gone longer without seeing each—ah!”

Jun wrapped a firm hand around his length, giving it several strokes. Nino keened and pushed into his hand.

“I know,” Jun murmured in a low voice, watching Nino’s blissful expression. “But I missed you.”

“Did you—ah—now?” Nino groaned when Jun increased the speed of his ministrations.

Jun proceeded to show him just how much.


	5. V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *pops out of nowhere* Oh, hello! I’m sorry this took so long. This chapter is filled with fluff and smut. If you have questions, feel free to ask xD. I think I went overboard with the length *sigh.*
> 
> Many thanks to my beta <3 and to my readers who constantly pester me about chapter 5 xD. I hope this makes up for it.

When Nino woke that morning, he felt like there was a weight that had been lifted off his shoulders.

Nino had not felt this well-rested since he had last slept in the same bed with Jun.

Blinking his eyes open slowly, the first thing he saw was Jun’s face, his partner’s eyes closed as he was still sleeping from last night’s “exciting” events. Nino’s eyes traced the furrow in Jun’s brow to the straight lines of his nose, down to the curves of Jun’s lips.

_A baby._

Nino couldn’t believe it when Jun had announced that he was pregnant yesterday. It had been unreal. At first, he really thought that his partner had been joking, but seeing the terrified expression on Jun’s face, Nino realized there was no way it was a joke.

Nino was still worried, still scared for what was to come within the next several months, but Jun had seemed optimistic about the rest of the pregnancy. He wondered what Arashian—male Arashian—pregnancies were like. Jun had talked about needing to be close with him for the next six months, but what did that entail exactly?

Ah well, those questions could be answered when he had the chance to ask Jun, after getting everything settled, Nino mused. He shuffled closer to Jun, trying his best not to wake him.

They usually didn’t sleep so close together due to Jun’s fear of crushing Nino accidentally in his sleep. Nino thought Jun was being too paranoid, but arguing with him about this subject was useless. They always slept almost an arm’s length apart. Sometimes Nino would wait for Jun to fall asleep first before scooting closer to Jun—close enough that he could feel Jun’s body heat at least.

When he got close enough so that he could count the individual strands of Jun’s eyelashes, Nino stared at him for a few moments before looking down at the blankets. He reached out to grab a hold of the covers and slowly began pulling them down so that Jun’s stomach was exposed. He paused for a minute and looked up at Jun again before reaching out and… poking him in the stomach lightly. Jun didn’t react, still sleeping peacefully. Nino furrowed his brow and poked him harder. Jun still didn’t react.

 _Sleeping like a rock, eh?_ Nino thought in amusement before poking him again, this time adding more pressure. Jun grunted, his face scrunched in discomfort, but he remained asleep. Nino rolled his eyes before scooting closer so that he was only an inch away from Jun. His partner remained oblivious to his plans and Nino counted to three silently before reaching up and pulled Jun's face down for a kiss with both hands.

Jun’s eyes snapped open when Nino pulled away with a smirk. He grumbled, but Nino could see the corners of his mouth curving upwards.

“What was that for?” Jun mumbled, reaching out to grab a hold of Nino’s hand. Nino curled his hand around Jun’s.

“Just wanted to wake you up,” he said with a cheshire grin. “Good morning!”

“Ugh,” Jun scowled before grabbing the covers and throwing it over his head. “I want to sleep more!” he whined.

Nino chuckled and pulled his hand back. “Alright, alright.” He rolled on his back and stretched before flopping back down on the bed in a heap.

“Did you need something?” Jun asked sleepily, looking over at Nino with half-lidded eyes. Nino shook his head.

“No, go back to sleep. Sorry for waking you up, Jun.”

Jun gave a grunt before rolling over to the other side and promptly went back to sleep. Nino smiled before settling back in bed. He could nap for a little longer.

When Nino woke up for the second time a couple of hours later, he felt pressure and something wet on his lower body. Snapping his eyes open, he looked down across his chest and saw Jun sucking on his half-hard cock gently, trying to coax it to hardness. Nino gasped when Jun sucked harder, his eyes darting up to meet Nino’s, mouth never moving from its target as his tongue swirled around the tip of his penis, licking at the slit. Jun’s hands moved up and down the length slowly, stroking it firmly. Nino groaned, the image of Jun between his legs was turning him hard fast.

When Jun got him fully erect, Nino whimpered when Jun took him whole, slowly taking his time to reach all the way to the base, his tongue swirling around the length. The heat of Jun’s mouth around him was glorious.

Jun reached the base, humming loudly, smirking when Nino’s hips jerked. Pulling back up, Jun brought his right hand to Nino’s balls while his other hand was placed at the length of his lover’s cock. Bobbing his head while sucking harshly on Nino’s length, it didn’t take long until Nino was coming in his mouth, letting out a shout as he did so, his legs clenching around Jun’s shoulders as his body shook with his orgasm.

Jun hungrily lapped up all of Nino’s cum before releasing him with a loud pop. He sat up and began stripping off his clothes quickly, his gaze never leaving Nino’s. Nino panted as he watched Jun throw his pants to the side before sliding down on top of him and capturing his lips in a hungry kiss. Nino kissed him back as fiercely as he could, groaning when Jun’s hands began to roam all over his chest, sliding down to his hips, and rubbing them with his palms.

Nino moaned when one of Jun’s hands slid in between his thighs to prod at his hole. He spread his legs wider to give Jun better access, and bit his lip when Jun pressed on his hole with a finger, not exactly pushing it inside.

“Don’t tease…” Nino groaned, rutting against Jun’s hand, trying to get more friction. Jun chuckled and reached for the bottle of lube on the bedside drawer. He applied a liberal amount on his fingers and slid down the length of the bed and stopped between Nino’s legs.

Jun took his time to prepare him. By the time Jun was pumping three fingers in and out of him, Nino was writhing on the bed, clutching at the sheets as he got hard again. When Jun deemed him ready, he wiped his fingers on the sheets before reaching for the lube again. He coated his length liberally with the lube before reaching out for Nino to flip him on his stomach. Getting the idea of what Jun wanted, Nino pushed the lower half of his body up, while his upper half was resting on the pillow.

Nino tried to calm the rapid beating of his heart as he felt Jun move close behind him in anticipation. He held his breath when he felt Jun’s cock brush against his entrance before slowly pushing in.

“Hah…” Nino panted, dropping his head down, trying to breathe through his mouth as Jun continued to push in. He was going crazy—Jun was going too slow, making him feel each and every inch of him as he entered Nino’s body. He didn't think he would ever get used to the feeling of being taken by Jun—it was intense every time.

When Jun bottomed out in him, he rubbed at Nino’s shoulders softly, trying to help him calm down. Nino groaned at the full feeling. He shifted a little, spreading his legs more apart for balance, letting out a whimper when that caused him to feel Jun’s cock shift inside him.

Nino could hear Jun groan but his partner remained still while he tried to get himself comfortable. When Nino deemed himself ready he pushed himself on his elbows and clenched tightly around Jun before pushing back against him. Taking that as his cue to move, Jun began to move against him in slow shallow thrusts.

Their lovemaking was slow and unrushed. Jun switched his pace occasionally, speeding up and then slowing down when Nino’s moans started to get louder. Jun rubbed at his back and legs, but never touching his cock, not wanting Nino to come yet.

Nino was in a state of frustration and pleasure. He was frustrated because he wanted to come, but he was also feeling pleasure from his head to his toes every time Jun thrusted in. Nino moaned loudly when Jun slapped his butt cheeks, kneading them with his palm.

Just as Nino was about to whine at Jun to let him come, Jun wrapped his arm around Nino’s stomach and pulled him backwards so that he was now sitting on him. Jun rested his hand on Nino’s waist, thrusting up into him in hard and slow thrusts, the force of it making Nino’s body rock each time.

“Jun!” Nino gasped as Jun pulled him close so that his back met Jun’s chest, not relenting in his movements against Nino. “Ugh—”

Jun pressed kisses against Nino’s neck and reached around his body to get a hold of his cock, stroking it lightly as he picked up the speed of his thrusts. Nino whimpered as he let himself get lost in the sensation and Jun’s touches, resting his head on Jun’s shoulder as he took all that Jun gave him. Nino reached up with one hand and twisted his face to the side to capture Jun’s lips in an open-mouthed kiss.

Nino’s orgasm crawled up on him unexpectedly. His breath hitched, and Nino felt his vision go white as he came, Jun fucking him through it in fast and rough thrusts while he stroked his cock along with the rhythm of his hips.

“Jun!” Nino wailed as the force of his orgrasm rippled through his body, and he almost fell forward if not for Jun’s quick reflexes. He leaned against Jun in a tired heap as Jun pounded into him a few more times before releasing inside of him with a grunt. Nino whimpered as he felt Jun’s hot release spill inside him.

“Kazu, Kazu,” Jun whispered into his neck, kissing him gently as the both of them tried to catch their breaths. He felt a prod in his mind and Nino immediately let down his shields, allowing Jun to deep link with him. He was immediately hit with happy feelings and love. Nino sighed contently. He didn’t know how long they went on kissing for, but it must have been a long time because he was starting to feel cramps in his legs.

“Cramps,” Nino groaned before slowly sliding off of Jun, wincing as his partner’s length slid out of him, his come slowly dribbling out of his hole. “Messy,” he sighed, reaching back to catch some with his fingers. He felt Jun shift behind him before hands on his shoulders began to turn him around. Jun placed one last kiss on his lips. Nino hummed, placing gentle kisses on Jun’s lips before pulling away with a happy sigh. Jun reached up to stroke his lover’s back gently.

“I'll make breakfast this time,” Nino offered sleepily, closing his eyes. Jun chuckled and pulled him close again.

“Don't push yourself.”

 

When they got themselves out of bed later and Nino made breakfast, the two of them were discussing their plans for the rest of the day.

“We have to go out and buy supplies then,” Nino suggested after the cleanup was done. They had gone to the couch to snuggle after breakfast, Nino being the little spoon as always. “You didn't seem to bring much with you.”

Jun rubbed at Nino’s tummy absentmindedly. “No. I figured I would get most of the shopping done here.”

“That's fine. We can go in a bit,” Nino suggested, placing a hand on top of Jun’s. “Did you wanted to do anything else today?”

“Hmmm…”

“Ah! I know! Did you want to see the gardens today?” He felt Jun twitch behind him. “I think they should be open for public viewing now.”

“Can we?” Jun asked excitedly. Nino chuckled.

“Sure, why not?” He let out a small _oof!_ when Jun pulled him closer for a back hug. He grinned. How typical.

 

“Hey, Would it be okay to tell my friends about…?”

Nino gestured towards Jun’s stomach. After a relaxing weekend at home with Jun, Nino had to go to work now (to his dismay). Jun shrugged and handed him a lunch bag.

“If you want to. I don't mind.” He leaned down to give him a kiss but Nino had already moved up and pecked him on the cheek, grinning at the surprised expression on Jun’s face. He looked happy at the sudden bout of affection from him.

“Thanks, Jun,” Nino said cutely, enjoying how Jun grinned back at him. “I'll see you later.”

Jun waved, his purple orbs sparkling with happiness. “Have a nice day at work.”

 

Nino decided to wait until lunch to break the news to his friends. He was brimming with nervous energy, but he was excited to tell his friends the big news. He waited until the clock hand struck noon before he dashed out of his seat and headed down to Aiba’s office. He was going to tell Aiba first before going to see Sho.

When Nino reached Aiba’s office, the door was closed. Nino quirked an eyebrow—Aiba didn’t generally shut his door. He usually kept it open, welcoming everyone in enthusiastically. He wondered if Aiba was busy, but his friend had told him that it was okay to bother him if he needed something, as long as Nino let him know.

 _I guess I could try knocking…_ Nino thought unsurely, walking up to the door. He paused for a moment before pressing his ear against the door to try to hear what was going on the other side of it. Unfortunately for him, the door was made to block out all sound (due to the nature of Aiba’s job) so he wasn’t able to hear anything. Letting out a soft sigh, Nino gave the door three firm knocks.

After a minute or so, there was still no answer. Nino frowned. Had Aiba left for lunch already? He knocked again, harder this time. When he still received no answer, Nino shrugged. _He probably left for lunch then._ Just as he was about to turn around to leave, the door opened.

“Nino!” Nino’s eyebrows shot up when he saw Aiba open the door. He looked… flushed. And his lips were swollen, like he’d been biting them (or making out with someone). He narrowed his eyes at him. “Nino!” Aiba called again. “What are you doing here? Sorry about that. I was busy—”

Nino stormed through the door, pushing his friend out of the way. When he stepped inside and saw Ohno sitting at the couch, his hair a mess, clothes askew, and lips as swollen as Aiba’s, Nino smirked.

“I knew it!” he exclaimed.

“I can—”

Nino cut him off.

“Making out at work, Masaki? I _am_ shocked.” He laughed when Aiba pouted, closing the door shut behind him.

“We were just—” Aiba sighed in resignation, knowing that no matter what he would say, Nino wouldn’t believe him.

Nino grinned and sat down beside Ohno. “Hi Oh-chan,” he greeted in Arashian.

Ohno smiled back at him. Nino noted that he looked the same as ever, just a little darker since the last time he had seen him.

“Hi, Nino,” Ohno greeted back in the same language.

Nino continued in the same language. “So I see you’re here in Amnos too.”

Ohno nodded. “Yes, I came here with Jun.”

Nino nodded. “That makes sense. Thank you for your help, Oh-chan.”

Ohno shook his head and smiled. “Not at all.”

“You know why Ohno-kun is here, Nino?” Aiba asked in Arashian, joining the conversation as well and taking a seat next to Nino on the couch. Nino blinked at him before turning back to Ohno.

“You didn’t tell him?” he asked curiously. Ohno shook his head.

“Not my place to tell.”

“I’m confused, what’s going on?” Aiba asked, looking back and forth at them. Nino chuckled.

“Are you going to tell him?” Ohno asked, tilting his head curiously. Nino nodded.

“That’s actually why I came here today!” Nino turned to Aiba. “Don’t freak out, okay? I know how you get, Masaki.”

“What? What?” Aiba asked, confusion colouring his tone.

Nino took a deep breath before looking at his friend in the eye seriously. “I’m going to be a father. Jun’s pregnant.”

“Congrats—what?!” Aiba shrieked, changing back into Amnosian. Nino winced at the loud exclamation and then he felt Aiba grabbing his shoulders. “What do you mean pregnant?!”

Nino grabbed Aiba’s wrist and gently pulled his hands away. Nino decided it was probably better to switch back to his native language for an easier explanation. “Exactly what I said: Jun is pregnant.”

“But how?!”

Nino turned around to look at Ohno. “I don’t actually… I mean, I know the basics, but I think you’re probably the best person to explain this whole pregnancy thing about your people.”

Ohno chuckled and turned to look at Aiba, who was gaping at the both of them. He switched to Amnosian too. “He’s right, Aiba-kun.” Nino was impressed—Ohno’s Amnosian had gotten much better since he had last spoken to him. _I wonder if that’s because of Masaki,_ he wondered.

“Wait, what?!”

“Some male Arashians can get pregnant,” Ohno explained, saying the words slowly. “Jun is one of them.”

“What?!”

Nino patted his friend on the cheek. “There, there. Deep breaths, Masaki.”

To his amusement, Aiba did take five deep breaths to calm himself down.

“Pregnant! Wow!” Aiba exclaimed in astonishment. “When did you know?”

Nino shook his head. “I didn't until the past weekend. It’s news to me too.” He turned to Ohno. “Actually, I was wondering when you guys found out?”

Ohno had been fixing his hair while they were talking about the news. He paused in his actions before turning back to the two friends. “We didn't know until about a few days before we came to Amnos,” he admitted. “When Jun passed out—”

“What?!” Nino exclaimed, startled. Jun had passed out?!

“It's fine now,” Ohno reassured him. “But when he passed out, I did a few tests and that's how I knew he was carrying a child.”

“Wow! That's amazing!” Aiba exclaimed excitedly. “When is the baby due?”

Nino frowned. “From my understanding the pregnancy is… six months?” He turned to Ohno for confirmation.

Ohno nodded. “Yes. He was a month pregnant when we found out.”

“I'm so happy for you, Nino!” Aiba squealed, tackling his friend in a bear hug. The force of his hug was enough to send Nino straight into Ohno, making them all fall to the off of the couch with Ohno at the bottom. “A baby! Wasn't that what you wanted to talk to Jun-kun about?!”

“You're heavy, get off!” Nino complained, pushing at Aiba’s shoulders. “Sorry, Oh-chan.”

“Ohno-kun is strong,” Aiba remarked, pushing himself off of Nino. “You’re not going to squish him, especially with how light you are.”

Nino scowled at him. “No one asked for your opinion about my weight, Masaki.”

Ohno chuckled as he watched the two friends bicker.

“So are you telling Sho-chan next?” Aiba asked. Nino nodded. He stood up and straightened his shirt.

“Yeah, that’s my next stop. Got side-tracked here.” Nino waved at the both of them. “Well, I’ll be going now.”

“We need to go for drinks, Nino, or food! With everyone!” Aiba exclaimed. Nino made a face.

“You can do that, but I’m having no part of it.” He looked down at Ohno who was still sitting on the floor. “Don’t get the carpet too dirty, guys. You’ll have a lot of explaining to do.” He cackled when Aiba began to protest loudly, and ran out of the office.

When Nino told Sho, Sho had taken the news with as much enthusiasm as Aiba had. He had known about the male pregnancy thing because Okada had told him about it before. Nino was relieved that Sho didn’t ask him questions like Aiba had. Sho did ask if they were going to do a baby shower for the little one, but Nino had told him that he hadn’t even thought about that yet. _Most likely we won’t,_ Nino thought to himself. He didn’t even think that Jun knew what baby showers were—did Arashians do that?

“I'm so happy for you!” Sho exclaimed cheerfully, giving Nino a hug. “And you said you wanted to speak to him about it, and you did!”

Nino nodded and tried to hide a smile behind his hand. “We didn't actually, but it came to us anyway.”

Sho grinned. “Then it's a sign.”

Nino rolled his eyes. “Okay, whatever you say, Sho-chan.”

“Ah, yes. You should tell Jun-kun to come visit me this week, preferably as early as he can. We have to go over his visa.”

“Okay, will do.”

“You know…” Sho said carefully. “There was something I wanted to speak to you about…”

“Hm?”

Sho watched him for a moment before straightening his tie. Nino blinked at him owlishly. Was it something that serious?

“Nino, you and Jun have done a deep link before,” he said it like it was a statement, not a question. Nino nodded, confused on where Sho wanted to go with this. “So technically, in Arashi, you two are married.”

“Yeah, I guess you could say so.”

“And, to my knowledge, you and Jun are not legally married to each other in Amnos?”

Nino looked at him in surprise. “Well… yeah. We aren't married.”

“Have you guys considered getting married?” Sho asked carefully.

To be honest, it had crossed his mind a few times during their relationship, but when Nino realized that he was “technically” already married, he had never bothered with the Amnosian side of things.

“I'm just saying,” Sho continued, “you two are having a child soon and while your status as a married couple holds in Arashi, it isn't like that in Amnos.”

“True…”

“I don't want to pressure you into marriage, Nino. I mean, well, you basically already are married, but the fact that you and Jun-kun aren't married in Amnos will make it harder to get visitation rights and access to other things such as school for your child in the future. You know Amnosians are strict on marriage and stuff like that.”

Nino snorted. “Traditional values when it comes to families, but liberal everything else.”

Sho smiled wryly, nodding in agreement. “Yes, we just can't seem to get our values straight.”

“You bring up a good point, Sho-chan,” Nino said, tapping his fingers on the desk. “I actually haven't thought about it.”

“Marriage?”

“Yup. It just never occurred to me… huh.” He blinked and looked down at the desk.

Sho was right—on Arashi he and Jun were recognized as a married couple. Arashians didn’t sign papers to make their relationships official like Amnosians did—they just knew when they felt the deep link in a person’s mind.

Many Arashians did take people as lovers from different planets, and many ended up living on Arashi to have it recognized. But most Amnosians who paired with Arashians tended to stay on their home planet. Nino had been curious once about the statistics of Arashian and Amnosian mixed couples. There was a substantial amount of interspecies couples that were together, and many lived on Amnos.

Nino supposed he did have to consider speaking about this to Jun. Amnos would never grant he and Jun the same rights as a married couple that would be granted on Arashi without a marriage certificate. While they would have rights on Arashi, Amnos only saw them as boyfriends. In fact, the fact that Nino called Jun his partner wasn't even valid! Nino had started calling him that after their deep link, because they were basically married on Arashi’s terms. However, on Amnos, they weren't actually partners—they weren't married.

It was a lot to think about for sure, and Nino realized he had to speak to Jun about getting the papers signed. He knew Jun would have no problems with it, and Nino definitely didn't, but it was strange to think that they were getting married for the second time. Nino supposed he had never bothered getting their relationship official on Amnos because they were technically already married.

“Thanks for bringing it up, Sho-chan,” Nino finally said and looked up to smile at his friend.

“Just saying,” Sho replied gently. “It's something to think about.”

Nino nodded. “Yeah, I'll talk to Jun about it tonight.” What better time than to do it now?

 

When Nino was on his way home from work that evening, he made a quick stop to the city office. It was simple, wasn't it? Get the marriage papers, sign them, and get it approved. Done.

As he walked up the steps of the building, Nino wondered if this was going to change anything. _It shouldn't, right? I mean, we are already married and all,_ he mused with uncertainty. _And Jun has never mentioned anything about it either._

When he got inside, he headed for the counter. The associate smiled at him and gave him a bow in greeting.

“Welcome, how may I help you today?” She asked, giving him a bright smile. Nino paused. How did one ask for marriage papers? _Do I just ask for them?_

“Hi… uh. If I wanted to get marriage papers… do I ask for them here?” he asked, blinking rapidly in nervousness.

“Yes! Are you getting married, sir?”

Nino blushed and nodded. “Yeah… I was planning on getting them signed tonight…”

She beamed. “That’s fine!” She said happily, handing him the papers. “We just need you two to hand in the papers together.”

Nino smiled at her. “Thanks,” he said. She gave him a bow.

“Congratulations on your marriage.”

Nino chuckled. “We’re not married yet, but thanks.” His chest warmed at the thought of them being recognized as a married couple.

 

Jun munched on a bowl of nuts as he watched the news report. He glanced over at the clock near the kitchen wall and frowned. _Where can he be? Is he working overtime?_ Jun wondered. Just as he was about to go get his portable device to call Nino, the front door opened.

“I’m home!” Nino called. Jun scrambled to get up from the couch, making sure he wasn’t spilling any of the nuts from the bowl. Nino had slipped on his slippers when Jun went to greet him. “Hi,” he said, giving Jun a small wave. “Sorry I was late. Did you wait long?”

Jun shooked his head. “Work?” he asked, opening his arms to let Nino hug him. He smiled when he felt Nino let out a long sigh against his chest.

“Don’t remind me. I’m going to get permanent hunchback in my old age,” he mumbled, snuggling closer to Jun.

Jun frowned. “Well, I hope not. You should get a better chair for your back.”

“Hmm…”

Jun placed a hand on top of Nino’s head, sliding it to his bangs to push the hair out of the way. “Are you hungry?”

Nino nodded lazily, mouthing at his shirt. “Yeah, I could eat.”

Dinner was a quiet affair. Jun had already eaten, so he just watched and conversed with Nino as his lover ate. When they were done, and when Jun was putting away the dishes, Nino was fiddling with something in his briefcase. He watched in curiosity as Nino pulled out two sheets of paper.

“Jun, we need to talk,” Nino said, lining the pages up beside each other and looked up to meet his gaze. “When you’re done, of course.”

Jun eyed the papers on the table. “Is something wrong?”

“No, but it’s something I would like to speak to you about. I’ll wait until you’re done.” Nino looked through his briefcase again and pulled out two pens. Jun blinked and suddenly had a hunch of what Nino wanted to speak to him about.

When he finally put away the remaining dishware, he wiped his hands on the towel before walking over to join Nino at the dining table. Nino slid the paper in front of him to read. Jun looked down and blinked at it.

“Marriage registration?” Jun asked, turning to Nino.

“Hmm hmm,” Nino hummed, twirling the pen with his fingers. “Sho-chan mentioned it today when I told him we were expecting a child.”

“Oh! How did he take it?”

Nino grinned. “I told Masaki too. They're both really happy for us.”

Jun chuckled. “I bet.” He could already imagine Aiba’s excited squeals in his mind.

Nino looked up at him, balancing the pen on his upper lip. “Hey Jun… can Oh-chan get pregnant too?”

“Satoshi? No, no he can't.” From what Jun knew anyway. The older male had never mentioned it either. “I don't think so…”

“Oh.” Nino frowned down at the desk. “I see.”

Jun realized that Nino was upset. “What's wrong?”

Nino sighed and shook his head, brushing his hair away from his eyes. “Nothing,” he mumbled, waving a hand at him in a dismissive manner. He switched topics. “Anyway, what do you think about us getting married… the Amnosian way?” He pointed down at the papers with his pen.

Jun shrugged, making a mental note to himself to ask Nino about it later. “I don't mind.”

Nino nodded. “I don't either, since we are _technically_ married on Arashi. But it is best that we do it here too because of legality issues. Us being an official married couple will make it easier on our child.”

Jun tried to fight the warm feeling in his chest when he heard Nino mentioned ‘our child.’ It still felt so surreal that he was pregnant and that they were going to have a child together. And that Nino wanted it too.

“That's fine. We can do it,” Jun said giddily, smiling at him. “I’m good with anything.”

Nino beamed at him. “Great! Let’s fill the sheet out now, and we can hand it in together on the weekend.”

When they finished filling in the forms, Nino placed them back in his briefcase for safekeeping. Jun watched in amusement as Nino made sure that the forms were neatly placed inside, free of any wrinkles.

“So I guess we have to go get rings then, huh?” Nino asked with a chuckle when he turned back to Jun. Jun raised an eyebrow at him. Rings?

“Why?” he asked in confusion. “Why do we need rings?”

Nino’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“What are they for?” Jun tried again.

“It’s to show we belong each other.”

“Are the papers… not enough?” Jun asked hesitantly. He didn’t understand why there was a need to show marriage outright like that.

Nino shrugged, averting his gaze from Jun. “No, you’re right. The papers are enough. Don’t worry about it!” Nino grinned up at him. “I was just being silly. We have the deep link anyway.” He stood up. “I’m going to go wash up. See you in a bit.” He left without giving Jun a chance to say anything in response. Jun blinked as he watched Nino go.

_What just happened?_

 

The next day, Jun decided to go and visit Ohno. Ohno greeted him at the door and the two friends settled down in the living room. Ohno was residing in Aiba’s home for the next six months of Jun’s pregnancy. Jun wondered if the two of them had sorted out their previous problem. Ohno’s mood had seemed pretty normal lately, and Jun was thinking that it was most likely solved (or being dealt with).

His friend had wanted to check his vitals, and Jun agreed, letting him do whatever he wanted to do. Ohno had his medical equipment laid out in front of him as he performed his tasks.

‘You looked perturbed about something,’ Ohno commented, as he began putting away his things after he was done. ‘You’re healthy enough. Being around Nino is helping you alot.’

‘Yeah, I’ve been feeling a lot better the past several days,’ Jun agreed.

‘But you’re unsettled. What’s going on?’

‘Do—’

“I’m home!”

Jun watched in amusement as Ohno perked up at the sound of Aiba’s voice.

“Living room!” Ohno answered. He sent Jun a bemused look. Jun found it amusing to hear Ohno speak out loud, especially since his friend hardly ever talked unless he was excited or explaining something to his patients.

Jun could hear Aiba putting something on the kitchen counter before heavy footsteps made their way over to them.

“What are you— oh! Jun-kun!” Aiba exclaimed. Jun grinned and waved at him.

“Hey, sorry for crashing,” Jun greeted him in Amnosian. Aiba shook his head.

“No, not at all! I didn’t know you were coming!” They shook hands in greeting before Aiba sat down next to Ohno on the couch. Jun hid a grin behind his hand when he saw Ohno unconsciously scoot closer to Aiba.

‘Shut it,’ Ohno warned.

‘It’s cute!’ Jun protested.

‘No.’

“So what brings you here, Jun-kun?” Aiba asked, unaware of the mental conversation going on between the two Arashians. Jun blinked away from Ohno’s gaze and turned to Aiba.

“Actually! It’s perfect that you’re here,” Jun said with wide eyes. “Maybe you can help explain it to me.”

“Sure,” Aiba said grinning. “Ask away!”

“What does a ring signify on Amnos?” Jun inquired. “Nino mentioned them yesterday.”

Aiba’s eyebrows shot up. “Rings?”

“Yeah. We signed the marriage papers yesterday, and when we were done, he mentioned rings.”

“Oh, wow! Marriage! Congrats!” Aiba exclaimed happily, shooting forward to hug Jun. Ohno made a small grunt as he was pushed against Jun, sandwiched between the two of them.

Jun blushed but returned the hug, awkwardly reaching around Ohno to reach Aiba. “Ah—err, thanks.”

“This is really great!” Aiba continued enthusiastically, pulling away. Jun had to hide a grin when Ohno leaned back against Aiba, making himself comfortable while Aiba's cheeks were slowly turning pink. Trying to look unaffected by Ohno’s affections, he said to Jun, “I’m so happy for both of you! It’s about time!”

“Thanks,” Jun said again, not knowing how to react to his friend’s enthusiasm.

“As for the rings… it makes sense, doesn’t it?” Aiba asked, tilting his head to the side.

“What do you mean?”

Ohno had turned to look up Aiba too, his face showing a confused expression.

Aiba blinked and looked at the both of them back and forth. “Wait,” Aiba gasped. “You guys don’t know what the rings are for? Seriously?!”

Jun frowned. “Is it supposed to be a sign of ownership? I thought the marriage papers represented the union?”

Aiba gaped at him. “Ownership?”

Jun shrugged. “I don’t see any reason for the rings than that.” Ohno nodded in agreement.

“No!” Aiba shouted, making Ohno jump. Aiba quickly patted Ohno on the arm as an apology before turning back to Jun in bewilderment. “No! That’s not what the rings are supposed to be! It’s a symbol of marriage!”

“Symbol?” Ohno finally said, looking confused.

Aiba nodded. “In Amnos, couples wear rings to show that they’re married. It’s true that the papers are the proper documentation of marriage, but no one knows if a pair is married from that. We wear rings to represent that we are with someone,” he explained. He looked at Jun in curiosity. “The fact that Nino mentioned them means that he’s probably wanting to do things the Amnosian way too.”

Jun blinked rapidly. Oh. So that was what the rings meant. Jun thought back to last night, when he rejected the idea of the rings. Nino had looked crestfallen, but immediately hid the expression when Jun had asked why. _I made a mistake,_ he groaned mentally. He had to do something to fix it.

“What happened, Jun-kun?” Aiba asked. “Did something happen when you guys talked about it?”

Jun sighed and rubbed at the nape of his neck. “I think… I think I messed up.” And hurt Nino’s feelings with his ignorance.

“It’s okay, Jun-kun! Just explain to Nino you didn’t know what the rings were for!”

Jun shook his head. “No, I can’t. It’ll make me look stupid.”

‘So what are you going to do?’ Ohno asked, poking at his mental shields.

‘Fix it,’ Jun answered, turning his gaze to him. ‘I just need to figure out how…’

“Are you guys talking to each other?” Aiba asked, looking at the both of them back and forth. “What are you saying?”

Jun snapped his gaze back to Aiba. “Nothing, Aiba-kun.” He stood up from the couch. “I think I understand it now,” he remarked, nodding at them. “Thanks, Aiba-kun.”

“Eh?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Jun grinned at him. “I’m going to go now. See you later guys!”

‘Come visit me again next week, if we don’t see each other again,’ Ohno called out.

‘Yeah,’ Jun replied, giving a wave.

He had to go find a suitable ring for the both of them. _But where?_ Jun thought as he got into the elevator.

 

Nino groaned as he slipped his feet out of his shoes and into his house slippers. “I’m home!” he called, walking slowly to the kitchen, dragging his feet. He was met with silence. “Jun?” Nino called again, louder this time. _He's not home?_ “He didn't say he was going out…” he mumbled to himself as he walked to the kitchen. The lights were on, but the area was empty. “So he's not home…?”

 _Where could he be?_ Nino frowned and dropped his lunch box on the counter. He didn't really care if Jun went out, but it was unusual for Nino not to know because Jun always told him if he was going to be out late. _Hopefully he’s safe,_ Nino thought, opening up the fridge to grab a can of beer. “Ah… so glad to see you, Kirin,” Nino said happily at it. “I’ll probably need another of you later.”

“You need to eat dinner.”

Nino yelped and jumped in fright at the sudden voice behind him. He whipped around and saw Jun standing there with his arms crossed, purple eyes sparkling with amusement.

“Jun!” Nino shouted, trying to catch his breath. He could his heart pounding in his ears. “You scared the living daylights out of me!”

Jun chuckled and leaned against the counter, watching him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Nino rolled his eyes and let out a loud huff. “I’m sure.” He paused. “I thought you were out?”

Jun shook his head. “No, I was napping in the bedroom.”

“Oh… I should have figured. You usually sleep on the couch.”

Jun shrugged and stood up straight. “I wanted the bed today.”

“Have you eaten?”

Jun shook his head. “No, I was waiting for you actually. But… um…” he looked at Nino nervously. “I want to… I want to show you something.”

“Show?” Nino asked in a puzzled tone. What did Jun wanted him to see?

Jun blushed and nodded. “Yeah… just… you'll see.” He walked over to Nino and grabbed his hand. Nino allowed himself to be led out of the kitchen, curious about what Jun wanted to show him and why he was so nervous.

When they reached the bedroom, Nino’s eyebrows shot up. “Did you buy a sex toy?”

“No!” Jun immediately denied. “Why would I buy a sex toy?!”

Nino chuckled and sat down on the bed, still holding onto Jun’s hand. “You're bringing me to the bedroom, and you're nervous. There's not much else I can think of at this point.”

“It's not a sex toy!” Jun exclaimed, his face beet red. Nino let go off his hand and placed them behind him, leaning back with a smirk.

“Then what is it?”

Jun huffed and crossed his arms across his chest. “Give me a second,” he grumped before turning around and headed to the walk-in closet.

Nino watched curiously as Jun rummaged through the closet before coming back out again, his left fist clenched closed tightly.

“Kazu, I have to apologize to you.” Jun took a seat next to him on the bed and reached out for Nino’s left hand. “About yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” Nino asked, puzzled.

Jun sighed. “When you mentioned the rings. I didn't know they meant a lot to you.”

Nino shook his head. “No, don't worry about it. It's nothing important.”

Jun sighed and opened his hand. “You’ve never been good at lying about things you cared about. I know you too well by now.”

Nino gaped at the object on Jun’s palm. He snapped his gaze back to Jun in bewilderment. “Jun…” Nino said weakly, “what is this?”

“I spoke to Aiba-kun yesterday about the rings because I realized you were really upset,” Jun explained, looking down at the ring that was sitting on top of his palm.

“No, I—”

“And he told me that it was a symbol of marriage on Amnos,” Jun cut in. He frowned. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“It's honestly not that important…” Nino said weakly. “And I figured that we had the deep link so…”

Jun shook his head and placed the ring on Nino’s palm. “It doesn't work that way, Kazu,” he said softly.

Nino stared down at the ring dumbfoundedly. It was a simple golden band. When he brought it closer for inspection, he noticed there were carvings on the surface of the band. As he looked closer, Nino realized it was writing!

_Now, I’ll go to where you are._

The entire sentence was written in both Arashian and Amnosian. Nino stared at it in astonishment, before looking back up at Jun for an explanation.

“I thought it suited us,” Jun offered, pink dusting his cheeks. “We've always been apart, and lived in different planets. But we always come to each other in the end, don’t we?”

“Jun…” Nino was speechless. Jun had gone through all this for him? “Wait—where's your ring?” he asked, looking down at the gold band. “There's only one ring here.” He checked Jun’s left hand.

Jun coughed. “I made it differently.” He placed a hand on his neck and pulled out a chain. On it was an identical ring. Nino realized he was wearing it as a necklace!

“A necklace?” he gasped, reaching out to examine it.

“A necklace works better for me than a ring because of my military career,” Jun confessed sheepishly, “and I'm not used to wearing jewelry on my fingers.”

“I like it,” Nino remarked, playing with the necklace. “It suits you.” He was leaning into Jun’s space now, resting his head on his partner’s shoulder.

“T-thank you,” Jun stuttered. “Do… do you want to put on your ring now?” he asked shyly.

Nino grinned, loving how Jun was getting flustered. “Do it for me?” He gave Jun the ring back and held out his left hand, wiggling his fingers. He was suddenly aware of how short they really looked.

Nino watched in amusement as Jun struggled to get the ring on his finger, shaking with nervousness. When Jun finally managed to slip the ring on, Nino heard him let out a small sigh of relief.

“Breathe, Jun-kun, it's only me,” Nino said teasingly, stretching his arm out so he could see the ring on his hand.

“It's because it's you I'm like this,” Jun grumbled, wrapping an arm around Nino’s waist. “You make me nervous sometimes.”

Nino chuckled and snuggled closer to him. “Why’s that?”

“I never know what you're thinking at times.”

Nino snorted. “Um, Jun, you're Arashian.”

Jun shook his head and reached out to hold onto Nino’s left hand. “We don't always share thoughts, Kazu.” He pressed a soft kiss to Nino’s forehead before resting his chin on his head. “When we don't link, I never know what you're thinking. You hide it well.”

Nino chuckled and clutched onto Jun’s shirt, inhaling his scent. It smelled like Nino’s laundry detergent. _Mine._

“I keep you on your toes,” Nino remarked, grinning at him, tilting his face up to press soft kisses on Jun’s neck.

“That's a good and bad thing,” Jun groaned, tilting his face up to give Nino more access.

“I know,” Nino snickered before pushing Jun down on the bed with both hands, grabbing a hold of Jun’s hands when he straddled his waist. “Jun-kun, are you busy?” Nino asked in a husky voice, pressing soft and slow kisses to Jun’s fingers.

“No,” Jun groaned when Nino began grinding against him, rubbing their bulges together. “What did you have in mind?”

“Oh… a few things we can do,” Nino said before leaning down to kiss him.

 

‘How do you feel?’

Jun shrugged. He was currently visiting Ohno at his workplace to get his weekly check up done. After arriving in Amnos, Ohno had applied to work at the local hospital during his stay in the planet. It was just his luck that the hospital had been searching for someone who knew Arashian biology, especially since there was a rise in the number of Arashian patients being admitted. Ohno was offered the position in a heartbeat.

‘I’m eating and sleeping more, but that’s about it,’ he replied, watching as Ohno took his blood. ‘Should I be feeling anything else?’ he inquired nervously.

Ohno shook his head and placed the blood vials in his kit. ‘No,’ Ohno replied, ‘if you don’t feel anything out of the ordinary, it’s fine.’ He slipped off his gloves and dumped them in the trash.

‘Well… yeah. I’m just eating and sleeping more than usual.’ He hated how little energy he had during the day—he wasn’t used to it.

Ohno nodded. ‘That’s good to hear. How’s your sex life?’

Jun blushed. ‘Eh?!’

Ohno smirked and tapped Jun on the stomach gently. ‘Don’t forget. It’s good for the baby,’ he teased. Jun swatted his friend’s hand away with a scowl.

‘Of course not. And it’s… good.’ Great even. Not that Jun was going to tell Ohno that.

Ohno hummed, tapping his fingers on his chin. ‘Well, try to get as much of it as you can, unless the deep link is better for you.’

Jun sighed and shook his head. ‘Kazunari can’t hold one for long.’

‘Too bad,’ Ohno said in a disappointed tone. ‘You’ll just have to make do with the sex then.’

‘Yes, I’ll totally make do with it, Satoshi.’ Jun rolled his eyes and smiled fondly at his friend. Ohno smirked back at him.

‘I’m sure you’ll figure something out.’

Later that evening, Jun was in the living room relaxing on the couch with Nino. He thought back to what Ohno said earlier today. Jun and Nino made love almost everyday. Now that they were living together for a longer amount of time without having to worry about having a deadline in seeing each other, their relationship became more relaxed, especially their sex life.

While they did have their moments of fast quickies and rough lovemaking here and there, it didn’t feel as frantic as before. They had all the time in the world now, and Jun was enjoying every minute of it. He smiled down at the Amnosian in his arms, enjoying the warmth radiating from Nino. Nino was busy reading one of his work documents, mumbling under his breath to himself.

Jun wondered if life would be like this after the baby came into this world. Even though they had been adamant about not separating, was it going to happen? Would Jun be living on Amnos then? Would he be embracing Nino in his arms like this while their young one slept in their bedroom? The thought of separating from Nino upset him—he didn’t want to be apart from Nino. Jun would try everything he could to stay with him and keep their small family together. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t realize that Nino had been calling his name, and poking him on the arm.

“Jun!” Nino called, removing his glasses and placing them on the floor next to the couch.

“Huh? Oh—sorry about that,” Jun said sheepishly, “did you need something?”

“You were frowning and making frustrated noises,” Nino said in concern. “You okay?”

Jun sighed, and pulled Nino closer to him. “I was just thinking,” he said, burying his face into Nino’s hair, inhaling the man’s sweet scent. Everything about Nino was soft to the touch, despite his skinny frame.

“About?” he asked, leaning back against Jun’s chest.

“About what happens after,” Jun mumbled.

“After?”

“When this baby comes,” Jun continued. “What’s going to happen to us? How is it going to work?” he asked in a small voice. Jun felt Nino tense in his arms before slowly relaxing.

“I don’t want us to be apart either,” Nino said after a few moments. “We’ll work something out, Jun.” He felt Nino pat him gently on the hand.

“I hope so,” Jun said in a small voice. “I don’t want our family to be apart…” The idea of them being in different planets crushed him.

“We won’t,” Nino said in determination. “I won’t let it happen. We’ll work something out.” He twisted in Jun’s hold so that they were facing each other. Jun sighed. Nino reached up and placed a hand on Jun’s cheek and Jun’s eyes blinked shut when Nino leaned in to kiss him gently on the lips. He opened his eyes again and was greeted by his lover’s gummy smile. “Don’t worry, Jun.” He leaned in to kiss him again. “It’ll work out.”

Jun believed him when Nino kissed him again and again and again.

 

 _Domestic life suited them,_ Nino thought as he grabbed the clothes out of the dryer. It had been a little over a month since Jun came to Amnos and everything was going well. Jun was in his third month of pregnancy, and while he ate and slept more than usual, he still acted the same.

Except for one thing.

While Nino was never opposed to it, he had been worrying about it ever since Jun began to get deeper into the pregnancy.

Jun kept wanting to have sex more often.

Now, Nino generally had zero problems with this… if he was the one on the receiving end. In the past week, the past few times they had sex had been… Nino shook his head and sighed as he dumped the clean clothes in the basket.

Jun had gotten more… aggressive in wanting his… attention, to put it nicely. Nino definitely didn’t mind aggressiveness in the bedroom, but he had been rather reluctant to be the one taking Jun when his partner was pregnant _and_ horny.

“What if I hurt him?” Nino grumbled to himself, as he picked up the basket of clothes, making his way to the bedroom. Was it safe to penetrate a partner if they were pregnant? While Nino knew that Jun knew his body well, he was still reluctant to take Jun that way, especially since Jun seemed to be really into… aggressiveness these days. That definitely couldn’t be safe for the baby.

Well, Nino was good at distracting Jun anyway. It couldn’t be hard to direct Jun’s attentions elsewhere, right?

Wrong. As the weeks passed, Jun seemed to be getting more insistent on it. Nino thought he was going to burst from all the sex they were having. It was fine if it was once a day, but Jun wanted to go more than that. He could also tell that Jun was growing frustrated, every time Jun tried to get Nino to fuck him. Whenever that happened, Nino would try to give him a blowjob instead or beg Jun to take him. Nino was pulling all the cards he knew so he could avoid it. It was probably better to talk about it, but he just couldn’t bring himself to.

 _It’s embarrassing,_ Nino thought as he peeked a glance at Jun, who was busy watching the television. He just hoped this sudden need for wanting more sex died down just a little bit. It was enjoyable, but there was only so many times he could go. _Not all of us can go at it like bunnies,_ he thought in frustration. He sighed.

The next couple of days seemed to get even worse: Jun had just attacked him this morning, shoving him against the bedroom door and claiming him in an open-mouthed kiss while unbuttoning his pants. Nino had tried his hardest to escape, but it was hard when Jun was on his knees giving you the most enthusiastic blow job. He had only managed to slip away when Jun asked him to fuck him. Nino had hightailed out of there like no tomorrow.

On top of dealing with the stress from work and Jun’s raging libido, Nino was also dealing with his own dilemma.

When he was walking back home from the combini the other day, he stumbled across a scene of a child and his father in the park. The child had been crying over a scraped knee while the father was trying to comfort him. Nino had been so shaken when he realized that he was eventually going to be in that situation. What if he couldn’t get his child to stop crying? What if the child hated him? Nino almost had a panic attack outside, but thankfully, his mother had called him, asking him when he was going to visit her.

His mother. He hadn’t told his parents that Jun was pregnant yet. It had honestly slipped his mind in the past couple of months. Nino knew his mother was going to go after him for not telling them they were going to be grandparents. _I have to meet with them too,_ he thought tiredly as he placed the groceries in the fridge. If his mother found out he was going to have a child from someone else’s lips, she would make his life miserable. “Should call her…” he mumbled, putting the bags of lemons in the fridge before standing up to close the door.

“Call who?”

Nino jumped and spun around to be greeted by the sight of a tired Jun.

“My parents,” Nino replied, examining his partner’s face. “Tired?”

Jun let out a groan and rubbed his face with his hand. “And hungry,” he grumped. “But more than that, I need you Kazu~”

Nino tensed. “Need…?”

The next thing he knew, he was pushed up against the fridge door, Jun’s body trapping him, preventing any escape. Nino was very aware of the body heat his partner was radiating, and the lust in his eyes when he looked up at him in bewilderment. Jun placed one hand above Nino’s head while the other grabbed a hold of his left hand.

“Kazu,” Jun cooed, rubbing his cheek against Nino’s palm. “I want you.”

“That's putting it bluntly—ah!” Nino flinched when Jun reached down to grab his crotch. He whimpered when Jun added pressure to his touch, kneading his bulge with a firm hand. “Jun…” he groaned, grabbing onto Jun’s arm for balance.

“You smell nice,” Jun murmured, leaning down to lick at the skin of Nino’s neck.

Nino gasped as Jun slipped his hand into his pants and wrapped a warm firm hand around his cock. He buckled under Jun’s touch, fingers moving to grip the side of the fridge tightly as Jun stroked him, occasionally thumbing at the slit of his cock.

“Kazu…” Jun murmured in his ear, licking at his earlobe before gently nibbling on it. “I want you to fuck me.”

Nino froze. There wasn't much time to think after that because one twist of Jun’s wrist had him coming. He whimpered as he rode out his orgasm, coating Jun’s hand with his release. When he managed to get his brain working again, Nino looked up at Jun, he was smirking smugly down at him as he cleaned Nino’s cum off his fingers with his tongue.

Nino groaned. The sight was incredibly erotic. In fact, Everything Jun did during sex was erotic. _No, I can't,_ Nino thought, plastering himself against the fridge door as he tried to calm down his breathing.

“Kazu…” Jun murmured pressing closer to him again. “Please…”

 _Shit!_ Nino grabbed Jun’s wrist before he tried to escalate the situation further. He was pretty sure Jun had no qualms with asking Nino to make love with him right then and there on the kitchen floor. “Jun.”

“Kazunari,” Jun said back, licking his lips. “I need you,” he added again huskily.

“Uh…” _Have to get away! Have to get away!_

He let out a shout of surprise when Jun wrapped his arms around him and picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing (which was true for Jun). Jun carried him to the bedroom and placed Nino gently on the floor before spinning them around, pulling Nino down on top of him, locking their lips together in a heated kiss.

Nino tried to resist, but it was hard not to when Jun kissed him like he needed him to breathe. The kiss turned deeper and he noticed that Jun was trying to get his pants all the way off. “Want you…” Jun murmured in between kisses as he placed his hands at the waistband of Nino’s pants. This made him freeze before he forced himself to push himself off of Jun, falling to the floor in the process.

“Kazunari?” Jun asked in shock, getting up from the bed.

“I-I can’t,” Nino stuttered, trying to get up.

“What do you mean?”

“I-I can’t do what you’re asking me,” Nino said weakly, stepping back when Jun reached for him, trying to ignore the shocked and hurt expression on his partner’s face. “I’m sorry, Jun.”

“What do you mean? Having sex with me?” Jun asked in disbelief. Nino shook his head.

“I can’t take you. Not right now.” _Or any time during the pregnancy,_ Nino thought to himself.

Jun’s eyebrows shot up. “But why?” he asked in confusion.

“I’m sorry—I just can’t,” Nino cried. “Please don’t ask that of me! I don’t want to hurt you!” he blurted out.

“Hurt me?” Jun asked in bewilderment. “How are you going to hurt me?”

“You’re pregnant,” Nino exclaimed, gesturing at him. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to take you when you’re pregnant!”

“Kazu, you won’t hurt me,” Jun chuckled, reaching out for him. “It’ll be fine.”

“No!” Nino shouted, backing away from Jun. Jun gaped at him. “Sorry, Jun. I just… I just can’t right now,” Nino said hastily, backing out of the room. He immediately dashed out of the bedroom when he saw Jun get up from the bed, ignoring Jun calling his name.

It was probably a bad idea to run away in this situation, but Nino couldn’t do what Jun asked for—he didn’t want to hurt him. _I can’t even keep my partner happy,,_ Nino thought bitterly as he slipped on his shoes and ran out the door. He needed to see Ohno.

 

Nino looked around the hospital in curiosity. Since he didn’t actually have Ohno’s address, he had to text Aiba for it.

“So he’s working in a hospital, eh?” Nino mumbled to himself as he began to walk down the hallway. It made sense—Ohno was a doctor. “Now where can he be…?”

“Nino?” Nino whipped his head around and saw Ohno standing there in his doctor’s robe, holding a portable device in his hand.

“Oh-chan!” Nino exclaimed in relief and made his way over to him. Ohno’s eyebrows shot up as he got closer. Nino couldn't help but wonder what his eye colour was when it was exposed to sunlight. Like Jun, his eyes were a different colour from most Amnosians. Nino had heard countless of Aiba’s praises about the Arashian’s eyes. According to Aiba, Ohno’s usually dark grey eyes turned silver in the light. Nino had yet to see it in person, but with Aiba’s countless praises about them, he was extremely curious.

Nino and Ohno had a friendly relationship. While they weren’t close due to the fact that they hardly ever saw each other and lived on different planets, they both had always respected one another. Whenever they spoke to one another, Nino had always used Arashian instead of Amnosian, knowing that the older male was more comfortable speaking in his own language. Nino looked around before leaning in close. “I need to talk to you,” he hissed quietly. “It’s about Jun.”

Ohno sighed and pocketed his device. “I think I know what you want to say. I just got off the phone with him. Come, let’s go to my office.”

“So Jun called you?” Nino asked, once Ohno closed the door.

“Yeah, he was freaking out and crying. At first I thought something bad had happened to him and the baby, but then he started cursing your name,” Ohno replied, taking a seat across from Nino.

Nino cringed. “Ah… yes. That wasn’t my best moment.”

Ohno shrugged. “What happened? It was hard to understand Jun.”

Nino sighed and placed his face in his hands. “It’s the sex,” he blurted out.

“Sex...?” Ohno said slowly.

He nodded, his hands still on his face. “He’s… he wants to do it all the time!” he wailed in frustration, trying his hardest not to blush at the confession.

“Is... that a problem?” Ohno asked in confusion.

Nino pulled his hands away. “Yes! I can’t keep up!”

“Is this about your performance then…?”

“Oh-chan, I’m Amnosian! We can’t go that much like you guys!”

“Can't you use your mouth then?” he asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

Nino groaned. “Oh-chan…”

“Jun said you were afraid to hurt him, what do you mean?”

Nino snapped his gaze up to meet his. “He keeps wanting me to… penetrate… him! That can't be good for the baby!” he exclaimed, gesturing wildly.

Ohno’s eyebrows shot up. “Jun said that?”

“No, I said that!” Nino wailed, his cheeks heating up from embarrassment. “And he wants sex all the time, is that healthy?!”

“Nino, what exactly did Jun tell you?” Ohno asked, after a few moments of silence. “About his pregnancy, I mean.”

“What is he supposed to tell me?” Nino grumbled. “He just said that he was going to be pregnant for six months and that he needed to be close to me a lot.”

Ohno sighed and rubbed his temples. “Ah, I see.”

“But why is that?” Nino asked. “When he said that he needed to be close to me, I assumed he needed to actually be close to me. But he's been driving me crazy in the past few weeks!”

“Crazy?” Ohno asked. Nino nodded.

“Yeah, he wants sex _all_ the time! I can't keep up, Oh-chan! Why does he suddenly want to do it so much? I understand that it could be hormones and all that stuff, but is this normal?!” he asked, his voice taking on a hysterical tone.

“Ah, that's the problem,” Ohno mumbled to himself.

“What’s the problem?” Nino asked with a frown. “The sex?”

Ohno shook his head. “No, it's not that. Jun didn't explain to you properly,” he said with a sigh.

“What did he not explain to me?” Nino asked.

“Do you know how a regular Arashian pregnancy works?”

“I only know the gist of it, but not really,” Nino admitted sheepishly. “I've been meaning to read up on it but I had been so busy this past week. What is it like?”

Nino really had been meaning to read up on Arashian pregnancies—more specifically, male Arashian pregnancies. But like he told Ohno, work kept piling up and he never had time to open the books to read about it. Jun had only told him some vague details about the pregnancy, but not much else.

“Arashian pregnancy is a very taxing time for the one carrying the child,” Ohno explained. “When the Arashian parent is carrying the child, they need to be close to their lover.”

“Like proximity?”

Ohno paused. “Yes and no,” he said after a few moments. “It's a lot more complicated than that.”

“Oh-chan, just explain it to me,” Nino groaned. “Please stop beating around the bush.”

“For an Arashian couple, this wouldn't be a problem because of the deep link.”

“I can do it with him,” Nino pointed out.

“Yes, but the baby needs more than just a few times a week,” Ohno replied with a shake of his head.

“Baby?”

“The main reason why the Arashian parent carrying the child needs to be around their lover, especially in your case, is because the baby needs the presence of another person. With Arashian couples, the deep link helps with that. The baby can feel their parents’ connection which helps them. Because we are a telepathic species, the deep link is how we satisfy that need.”

Nino stared at him. “So the baby needs mental food too?”

Ohno chuckled. “Something like that. But it's so that the child can know that there's two parents around. Since Arashian pregnancies are taxing on the body, having a lover to relieve the emotional and mental part of the aspect falls on the other parent most of the time.”

Nino nodded. “That makes sense. So what about…” he hesitated. What about him? He wasn't Arashian, nor did he do a deep link with Jun most of the time. What could he do?

“That's where Jun didn't tell you,” Ohno said with a sigh. “When an Arashian is pregnant with a non-Arashian, and if the deep link isn't possible, there is another way to fulfill that need.”

“But Jun and I can do a deep link.”

Ohno shook his head. “Yes, but not all the time. Arashian couples maintain a deep link all the time. For you and Jun, it's only a few days at most, right?”

“Yes…” Nino said bashfully.

Ohno smiled at him reassuringly. “Don't worry about it Nino. It's not a big deal. Jun doesn't care.”

“But then how do I help the baby?!” he cried in frustration.

“Sex.”

“What?”

Ohno shrugged. “Sex is the way to go.”

“How does that work?!” Nino shouted.

“Sex is how you guys get closer, right? Sex is the best way to fulfill that need, especially when the lover can't maintain a deep link. It also helps with Jun’s hormones too.”

“But I don't understand how sex can help!” Nino complained. How did that make sense?

“Amnosians bond through sex. Arashians bond through deep links,” Ohno explained patiently. “Think of it like a physical deep link. It helps Jun by telling his body that his lover is there. It's hard for Arashians to endure a pregnancy alone—we need support.”

“What happens to couples who break up or aren't together?” Nino asked quietly.

“Usually the parent would get the support of friends or family,” Ohno said carefully. “It's not the best scenario, but it's the best option when that happens.”

“Sounds tough…”

Ohno nodded. “Yes. But it's also very rare. Arashians tend to mate for life, as you know.”

“Yes,” Nino said shyly, his cheeks colouring. “So wait.” Nino held out a hand in front of him. “I need to have sex with Jun—”

“Preferably penetrating him—” Ohno interrupted.

“That's the other thing!” Nino blurted out. “Is that safe?”

“Why wouldn't it be?”

“Wouldn't it hurt the baby?” Nino hissed.

“No, Nino, it's perfectly safe,” he said in amusement. “In fact, I would encourage it as Jun gets deeper into the pregnancy.”

“Oh…”

“It's less stress for him,” Ohno added.

“But Oh-chan,” Nino hissed again, “I can't keep up with him. He just wants to go again and again!”

Ohno burst out laughing.

“It's not funny!” Nino whined. “I really can't keep up!”

“I'll prescribe you something for that.” Ohno reached for his papers. “It's a… pill for situations like this usually. I do recommend that it's something you only take once every two weeks.”

“What is it?” Nino grumbled.

“It’ll help the fun last longer,” Ohno said with a smirk, handing him the note after he’d scribbled something on it.

Nino stared down at the prescription. “I'm not going to die from sex, am I?”

“No,” Ohno said with a laugh. “But you might be sore for a couple of days.”

 

When Nino got home from the hospital a few hours later, the apartment was silent. _Did he go out?_ he thought worriedly as he slipped off his shoes at the front door.

He looked around. The apartment still had all the lights on, so that was probably not the case. Jun hardly left the lights on when he went out, and Nino doubted he’d forgotten either.

“Maybe he's in the bedroom,” he murmured to himself, holding the paper bag close to him. He had decided to buy the prescription Ohno wrote for him. _If this helps Jun, I'll do it,_ he thought as he slowly made his way for the bedroom. _I’ve disappointed him enough._

Nino slowly pushed the door open. The room was dark, but he could see Jun’s figure on the bed, facing away from the door. _Is he sleeping?_ Nino wondered as he crept inside the room, trying his best not to wake him up.

He could hear Jun’s slow breathing as he got closer. Nino slowly tip-toed to the other side of the bed so he could see face Jun.

Nino sighed and rested his arms on the bed, placing his chin on his elbows. He hoped Jun wasn't too upset with his dramatic display a few hours ago. Jun wasn't the type to hold grudges, but when did they really have the time for that in a long-distance relationship? They did have their share of agreements, but they've never actually “fought.”

It was still a learning experience for them too. Nino reached out and gently brushed a lock of hair away from Jun’s eyes. If they were to live together after this baby was born, they needed to know how to resolve conflicts together.

“One step at a time,” Nino murmured.

“What's one step at a time?” Jun mumbled. Nino held his breath as Jun slowly opened his eyes to reveal light purple orbs.

“Us,” Nino replied after a moment. “Being together. Living together. Even though we've been together for all these years, we’re still learning how to be together.”

Jun huffed and reached out for his hand, intertwining their fingers. “Isn't that how it is for the rest of our lives?” he murmured quietly. “We live, we grow, we change. But the fact that we can adapt to those changes while changing ourselves is what makes us stronger, doesn't it?”

Nino chuckled. “Are you getting sappy on me?”

Jun smirked and scooted closer to him. “If you want me to be.”

They fell into a comfortable silence. Nino let out a long sigh and rested his head on the bed, his hand still clasped with Jun’s.

“Are you still mad at me?” Nino murmured. He turned his head so he could meet Jun’s eyes again.

Jun shook his head. “No, Satoshi explained everything to me. I'm sorry I wasn't clearer.”

“I'm sorry for running away,” Nino threw back, squeezing his hand around Jun’s. “You know I love you, right?”

The smile on Jun’s face was breathtaking—Nino wanted to capture it in his memory forever. “Yeah, I love you too,” he said back and leaned forward for a kiss. Nino met him halfway.

When they parted, Jun rested his forehead against Nino’s. “What's in that bag?” Jun asked, nuzzling him.

“Something Oh-chan gave me,” Nino said, pulling back to grab the paper bag. “He said it would help with our… bedroom activities.” Nino coloured. “I'm sorry about that. I didn't know.”

Jun shook his head and pulled Nino in for another kiss again. “It was my fault too, for not explaining things. Satoshi called me and scolded me for that.”

Nino grinned and took the bottle out of the bag and shook it lightly. The pills rattled inside. “He said once every two weeks,” Nino mused.

“Are you going to take it now?” Jun asked. Nino looked up at him.

“Do you want to have sex now?”

Jun snorted. “I wanted you earlier, and I still want you now.”

Nino chuckled and shook his head. “Yes, dear.” He unscrewed the cap and took one small green and burgundy capsule out before putting the cap back on. Jun watched as Nino placed it in his mouth and swallowed it.

“How do you feel?” Jun asked with a chuckle as he moved back so Nino could climb on the bed with him.

“Too early to tell,” Nino remarked, moving to take off his shirt. Jun immediately followed suit and both of them were naked in seconds.

Nino reached out to stroke Jun’s stomach, his tummy only showing a very small bulge. “Do Arashians show?” Nino asked curiously.

“Depends. Some do,” Jun replied. “I think I might later on,” he admitted truthfully, watching Nino caress his stomach.

“It's fascinating,” Nino commented, sliding his hand up to stroke Jun’s chest. Jun pulled him closer to him so that Nino was on top of him. “Your body is amazing.”

“I know,” Jun said smugly before kissing him. Nino straddled his waist, sliding a hand through Jun’s hair as he responded enthusiastically to his partner’s kiss. Nino made soft whimpering noises as Jun’s hands traveled down his body, fingers poking gently at his hole when he reached the lower part of his body.

Nino whined when Jun pressed a finger lightly in him. With his other hand, Jun reached up and grabbed a bottle of lube from under the pillows.

“Handy,” Nino commented when Jun broke the kiss to smear lube on his fingers.

“I have to be,” Jun said with a laugh and brought his hand back down between Nino’s legs. Nino lifted his hips slightly and spread his legs further apart to help Jun see what he was doing better. He tensed at the initial penetration of two fingers in him, breathing through his nose as Jun slowly pushed them deeper and deeper into him.

“Fuck,” Nino cursed when Jun added a third digit unexpectedly, dropping his head down on Jun’s chest. “Hah…”

“You're so lovely like this, all warm and pliant on top of me,” Jun commented as he pumped his fingers in and out of Nino, licking at his ears and biting the skin gently. Nino whined and clutched at the bed sheets on either side of him tightly as Jun worked him open.

“Fuck… you…” Nino groaned, tensing when Jun brushed against his prostate.

“You definitely will,” Jun remarked, teasing him a little longer before removing his fingers. He reached for the lube again and spread a liberal amount on his palm. Nino panted and watched Jun’s actions lazily, scooting up a little bit when Jun reached down to coat his erection with lube. When he was done, he gently raised Nino’s hips. Nino reached behind him for Jun’s cock and placed it at his opening. He slowly sunk down, moaning at the hard length inside of him, filling him up.

Jun grunted and threw his head back against the pillow as Nino slowly took him all in until he was seated on top of him. Nino panted and tried to arrange himself in a more comfortable position, his breath hitching when he felt Jun’s length move inside him.

“This is torture,” Jun groaned as he looked up at Nino in front of him.

“You’re telling me,” Nino grunted and began to move on top of him slowly. He grabbed onto the headboard in front of him for balance as he rode Jun slowly, grinding against him and rolling his hips.

“You’re so tight, how is that possible?” Jun asked, his hand moving to wrap around Nino’s cock, stroking it in time with Nino’s movements, earning a whimper from him. “You’re beautiful like this.”

“I... try…” Nino said through gritted teeth as he picked up the pace. The headboard was rocking against the wall now, and Nino wondered if his neighbour was home. He let out a loud shout of surprise when Jun gave a powerful thrust up into him, almost making him lose his grip. “Oh— fuck—!”

“Yes, we’re doing that.” Jun placed his hands on Nino’s hips and pounded into him every time Nino sunk down on his cock. Nino let out a wail as Jun continued to thrust in him. He tried to keep up with Jun, trying to match thrust for thrust. When Jun wrapped a hand around him, Nino made a choking noise and came in his hand, coating Jun’s chest with his cum. Jun fucked him through his orgasm, riding it out longer until Nino whimpered at him to stop.

“Damn… Jun,” Nino panted. Jun was still hard inside him. “You didn’t come yet?”

Jun shook his head and smirked up at him. “And you’re still hard!” he exclaimed with a laugh. Nino looked down. He was right. Despite coming his brains out earlier, his cock was still erect. Nino groaned.

“Can you fuck me now, Kazu?” Jun asked, pressing kisses against Nino’s neck.

“Give me a second to breathe?” Nino whined. Jun chuckled, massaging Nino’s stomach gently. When he got his breathing back to normal, he slowly slipped off of Jun.

“We need to clean the sheets after,” Jun commented, spreading his legs so that Nino could sit between them.

“Don’t we always anyway?” Nino grumbled. He looked down between Jun’s legs. “We don’t need lube, right?”

Jun shook his head. “When did we ever?”

“I like to make sure I’m not hurting you, J.” He pressed a finger to Jun’s opening, amazed to find him already so wet. “Is this because of the pregnancy?” he asked in wonder. Arashian males didn’t need lube like Amnosian ones did for sex, but Nino had never seen Jun this wet before.

“Yes,” Jun said impatiently, “now hurry up.”

“So impatient,” Nino said with a shake of his head. He smirked at Jun before pulling him closer to himself. He placed one of Jun’s legs on top of his shoulder and wrapped the other one around his waist. Placing the tip of his cock right at Jun’s slick entrance, he looked up to see Jun’s expression. Jun stared back at him impatiently. Nino stared back, loving how Jun scowled at him when he didn’t move.

“Can we please get on with it?” Jun growled.

Nino tilted his head to the side. The sight of Jun laid out like this in front of him was amazing. “I just want to admire, okay? It’s not often we switch,” he commented.

“That’s because you’re lazy and make me do all the work,” Jun groaned. Nino smirked. He rubbed the underside of his cock against Jun’s entrance, coating it with Jun’s slick. “I swear, Kazunari, you better put it in me—” Nino pushed inside Jun all the way to the hilt in one go, effectively cutting his partner off. “Oh!” Jun cried, hands clenching on the sheets tightly. Nino groaned. Jun felt incredible. He was hot and wet around him, and it was so _tight._

“Why are you so tight?” Nino asked against the skin of Jun’s knee. “Fuck.”

“Because you haven’t fucked me in a while,” Jun groaned, tightening his leg around Nino’s waist.

“Tell me to fuck you more then,” Nino said, panting. He really needed to calm himself down or else he was going to come again. _Will it even go down if I do,_ he wondered briefly.

“Kazu,” Jun pleaded, “please move. I can’t stand it.”

Groaning, Nino pulled out halfway, and pushed back in. He repeated the action, this time, staring down as he did so. The image of him entering Jun was incredibly sexy, the sight of Jun’s hole accepting his cock was erotic as he coated himself with the slick from Jun’s hole.

Jun whined and brought his other leg down to wrap them around Nino, trying to push him closer. Nino cursed lightly, but refused to give in to Jun. He placed his partner’s leg back to their original positions from earlier. “What are you doing?” Jun cried.

“I’m taking my time,” Nino replied, pulling out so that the tip of his cock was just inside Jun before slamming right back in again.

“You’re being cruel!” Jun growled, looking up at him in annoyance. “Cruel and not letting me come!”

Nino smirked down at him and looked down between Jun’s legs. When he pulled back out again, he could see Jun’s slick coating his cock. When he pushed back in, he could hear the squelch it made. For some reason, that turned him on even more than he thought it would. He did it a couple of more times, the sound getting louder each time, his cock getting more and more coated with Jun’s slick.

“I swear, I’m going to push you down and—”

Nino threw both of Jun’s legs on top of his shoulders and slammed back into him this time, and began pounding into him relentlessly. Jun mewled and one hand flew back to grab onto the headboard while the other flew to his cock.

“Don’t stop, don’t stop, don’t stop,” Jun chanted in desperation as Nino pumped faster and harder inside of him.

Nino watched in fascination as Jun’s breathing started to get heavy, his mouth opening as he panted for air. His face was red as he moaned in pleasure every time Nino thrusted inside him. Nino loved this, loved seeing Jun fall apart in front of him, writhing in pleasure because of him.

“Pleasepleaseplease,” Jun begged, “Kazu, please touch me.” He reached out for Nino’s hand.

Nino let himself be guided to Jun’s leaking cock, placing his hand on top of Jun’s and stroking him as he continued to pound relentlessly inside of him, relishing in Jun’s gasps of pleasure. “Come for me, Jun-kun,” Nino murmured.

“Kazunari!” Jun shouted, clamping his thighs together tightly, causing Nino to groan at how tight it suddenly got. After a few more thrusts, Jun came apart around him. Nino groaned as Jun clenched tightly around him as he came, his whole body shaking with the force of his orgasm. Nino didn’t last long either, coming inside of him hard, enjoying the whimpers from Jun when he did so. His hand was coated with Jun’s cum, and he brought it to his mouth, licking the remnants of it off his fingers. Arashian cum always tasted sweet, a fact that always amused him because of the regular diet they generally consumed (which was anything but sweet).

“Satisfied?” Nino asked, fully aware that he was still hard inside of Jun, despite coming just now. He rutted against Jun slowly, trying not to overwhelm Jun after his orgasm earlier.

Jun groaned and brought his legs down from Nino’s shoulders to wrap them around his waist. “I-I can still go,” he said tiredly.

“Are you sure?” Nino asked teasingly, trying to ignore the soreness in his thighs.

“Fuck me,” Jun demanded. Nino laughed and pulled out of Jun, ignoring the Arashian’s protest.

“Let me just clean up first before we continue,” Nino suggested, wiggling his eyebrows at him. He groaned when he stood up, almost losing his balance as he hit the back of his thighs to get rid of the cramp.

He quickly made his way towards the bathroom that was connected to his room and grabbed a towel to clean himself up. What he didn’t expect was for Jun to follow him in, closing the door shut and trapping him against the sink.

“J-Jun?” Nino stuttered when Jun reached down to stroke his hard length.

“I can’t wait. I need more of you, Kazu,” Jun whined, pulling him in for a rough kiss. When they pulled apart, Jun changed their positions around so that Nino was standing behind him while the were both facing the mirror in the bathroom. “I want you,” Jun groaned, bending so that his behind was facing Nino and reached down to stroke himself.

“You’re going to kill me with sex,” Nino mumbled but kneeled down in front of Jun’s ass. “I’m going to clean you up first.” Nino gave him a nice slap on the ass before bringing his face closer to Jun’s hole and stuck his tongue out, giving it a curious lick. Jun groaned and Nino could see him grip the edges of the counter as he continued to clean up the area, plunging his tongue inside a few times, the ring of muscle clenching tightly around his tongue.

When he had enough, Nino helped Jun bend over the counter more comfortably so that he could fuck him easier. Nino spread Jun’s legs apart a bit more before pressing inside, watching Jun’s face in the mirror for his reaction. Jun’s entire face was filled with pleasure, his mouth dropping open as Nino slid deeper inside him. _So pretty,_ Nino thought when he reached the hilt. He stroked Jun’s back lovingly, pressing soft kisses on his shoulder before pulling out and slamming back in.

Jun groaned, clawing at the edge of the sink for something to hold onto. Nino looked down and enjoyed the imagery as he pulled out and slammed back inside Jun again.

“Please, Kazu,” Jun pleaded. Nino looked up to meet Jun’s flushed gaze in the mirror. Smirking, Nino grabbed a hold of Jun’s waist and slammed back in again, pumping into him at a moderate pace.

“Ung…” Jun moaned, moving one hand to press against the mirror for balance as Nino thrusted inside him.

“You're so fucking wet,” Nino moaned when he felt Jun clench around him.

“Better get used to it,” Jun retorted back, making a choking noise when Nino shifted his angle to slam right against his prostate. “Kazu!” he moaned loudly.

“Fuck indeed,” Nino said chuckling. He lifted Jun’s right leg onto the counter, bending Jun down even more so that he could penetrate him deeper. He must have done something completely right because Jun tensed before letting out a wail as he pushed back against Nino, trying to match his thrusts. The sounds of their frantic lovemaking filled the air as Nino’s balls slapped against the skin of Jun’s ass. Nino slapped Jun’s ass a few times, kneading it with his palm. “How lovely,” he said, spreading the cheeks apart so he could see his cock sink inside Jun’s tiny hole.

“Oh my god, Kazu—” Nino watched in fascination at the mirror as Jun threw his head back, his cheeks flushed pink, and his mouth dropped wide open as his orgasm rippled through him in a silent cry. Nino reached around to wrap a hand around Jun as he continued pounding into him, enjoying the mewls Jun was emitting as Nino fucked him through his orgasm. It didn't take long for Nino to follow after him, coming with a loud groan, releasing inside him.

Nino slipped out of him slowly, admiring the way his cum and Jun’s slick mixed together as it slipped slowly out of Jun, wetting the back of his thighs. Nino panted tiredly as he wiped it away with his hand before falling down to the bathroom floor in exhaustion. Even though he was extremely tired, he was still horny.

“This pill… what the hell is it?” Nino groaned as he stared down at his erection. “I came three times and I'm still hard as a rock.”

Jun sunk down on his knees next to him, trying to get his breathing to even out. “I'm having fun, are you?”

Nino chuckled before moaning in despair. “My body says no but my dick says yes.” He stared down at his dick miserably.

“It's all the more fun for me,” Jun remarked, before leaning down and putting Nino’s cock in his mouth. Nino groaned and reached out to tangle his fingers in Jun’s hair.

“Your mouth is amazing,” Nino gasped as Jun pulled up and sucked the head of his cock with vigour. Jun hummed in agreement before sinking back down, taking Nino all the way to the base. He bobbed his head a few times, making loud sucking noises as he wrapped a firm hand around the base of Nino’s cock when the other travelled down between Nino’s legs. “Jun…” Nino whined as he spread his legs apart for Jun to push three fingers in.

Jun's fingers slipped inside easily, his hole still slick from earlier. Nino gasped when Jun curled them inside of him, brushing lightly against his prostate. Nino flinched and buckled under his touch. He pushed Jun down further on to his cock, his partner going easily as Nino began to fuck his mouth.

Nino’s orgasm built up inside of him as Jun continued to accept Nino’s thrusts in his mouth and when he curled his fingers again, Nino came with a shout. Jun greedily licked up his cum, making sure to catch each drop. When he was done, Nino almost let out a sob when he saw that he was still hard. He was so exhausted but the heat and ache in his cock was so hard to ignore. Jun chuckled, his purple eyes sparkling in amusement. “I'm going to die from sex today,” Nino announced.

“You better not,” Jun teased. “Then who will I fuck?”

Nino growled and reached out for Jun, pulling him up for a messy kiss. Jun kissed him back hungrily, dominating the kiss. Before he knew what was happening, Jun had slipped his hands underneath his underarms and picked him up. Nino automatically wrapped his legs around Jun’s waist, his stomach brushing against Jun’s erection again. _Insatiable,_ Nino thought in exasperation.

They didn't part until Jun moved them to the middle of the room. He wrapped his arms around Jun’s neck as Jun held him around the waist with one arm while the other hand moved to direct his cock into Nino’s orifice. One of Nino’s favourite sex positions was to be held by Jun while he rode him, finding the display of strength extremely sexy. Nino groaned when he felt the head of Jun’s cock brush against his entrance.

“I don't know if I can stay awake after this round,” Nino whined as he sunk down onto Jun’s cock, letting out a small moan. “Nghh…”

“We’ll just have to see,” Jun said with a chuckle, kissing Nino’s neck.

“I've come four times within the past hour and I'm still hard,” Nino groaned as Jun began moving in slow, shallow thrusts. “Hmm—” he rested his head on his arms tiredly. “Feels so good…”

Jun readjusted his grip on Nino, moving his hands down to grab at the globes of Nino’s ass, spreading his lover’s cheeks as he thrusted up into him. Nino let out small mewls and moans occasionally, whimpering when Jun pushed in slowly before pulling out and slamming back inside him roughly.

“You feel so good around me,” Jun grunted.

“I-I-I can't—” Nino sobbed as Jun began moving into him faster. “Oh god—Jun—please—!” he choked out as Jun roughly thrusted into him, clutching tightly onto Jun’s shoulders.

“Kazu, I want to deep link with you,” Jun said through gritted teeth. “Can I?”

“Yes!” Nino cried, letting down his mental shields when he felt Jun poke at them. Suddenly his senses were filled with JunJunJun. His pleasure was Jun’s pleasure. The combination of the feelings they were both experiencing overwhelmed him. Nino had never gotten used to the initial feeling of deep linking with Jun—maybe he never would—always feeling like he was going to burst from the intensity of their emotions. He felt light-headed at the combined pleasure he was experiencing through their link. Jun’s pleasure washed through him in waves, mixing with his and unrelenting. He let out a loud wail when he felt a sharp stab of pleasure in his groin out of nowhere, clenching around his partner’s length in retaliation. Jun moaned softly as Nino tightened his legs around his waist, trying to rock against Jun’s movements.

With one last thrust from Jun, Nino came with a shout, clutching at Jun’s back tightly as he shook from the high ferocity of his orgasm. Jun followed him shortly after, both of them trapped in ripples of pleasure from their deep link.

‘Let’s… let’s move to the bed,’ Nino suggested, closing his eyes. He couldn’t keep them open, feeling extremely worn out. Jun slowly carried him over to the bed and lifted Nino off of himself carefully. Nino groaned when he felt Jun slip out of him, immediately feeling the loss of Jun’s warmth. He felt Jun’s cum slowly spill out of him and Nino made a note to himself to take a shower later—when he could move his legs and open his eyes again. Jun placed him gently on the bed and crawled in next to him.

‘How do you feel?’ Jun asked, pulling Nino close to him.

‘Like I fucked my brains out, got my brains fucked out, and could sleep for a year,’ Nino replied tiredly. ‘And sore all over.’

‘But you liked it right?’ Jun asked in concern. Nino consoled him by sending him happy feelings about their evening. He felt Jun calm down a little.

‘I did,’ Nino sighed contently, snuggling close to Jun’s chest. ‘I’m probably not going to be able to walk properly for a couple of days.’

‘Are you up for a kiss?’ Jun teased.

Nino looked up at him with half-lidded eyes. ‘Always.’

Jun kissed him softly and slowly, taking his time to taste Nino, to map his mouth out with his tongue. Even though Nino enjoyed their lovemaking a lot, being in Jun’s arms like this and having all the time in the world with him was his favourite. It made everything feel more permanent.

‘I love you,’ Jun said earnestly when they pulled apart.

Nino grinned and kissed him softly on the lips. ‘I love you too,’ he returned.

He spent the rest of his evening kissing Jun until he fell into a dreamless slumber.


	6. VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the long wait!! But I'm here now. Thanks to my beta for looking this over and dealing with my whining and complaining for this chapter. You deserve all the Aiba teas. <3

Nino was acting weird.

Jun watched him from the corner of his eye as he ate his breakfast. After last night's bedroom activities, Nino was feeling groggy and constantly complaining about his back hurting this morning. Jun felt bad about making him go so many times, but his lover had refused to let him apologize.

_“I enjoyed it, and so did you. That’s all that should matter,” Nino had told him before crawling to the bathroom._

Jun had tried his best to make Nino comfortable by carrying him places in the apartment but Nino had quickly gotten annoyed with all the coddling and put a stop to it immediately. But that wasn’t what was alarming him—Nino was being jumpy. Jun tried to think of the possibilities for the reason for his mood, but there was nothing.

“Don’t think too hard,” Nino’s voice interrupted his thoughts from across the counter. Jun snapped his gaze to his lover’s brown eyes. “I can see you thinking.”

“You’re acting strange,” Jun said bluntly. Nino snorted and shoved a spoonful of soup in his mouth.

“Am I?”

“Yes. You’re nervous about something.” Jun observed his lover's expression. Nino looked back at him with his best poker face.

“Don't. It's nothing,” Nino finally said, averting his gaze casually.

Jun didn't trust him.

After they were done eating and cleaning up the dishes, Jun decided to do a few exercises to help keep his body in shape. He felt annoyed by the constant sleeping he was doing lately and he hated feeling sluggish all the time.

He dropped to the floor and began doing push ups. _One… two…. three…_

“What are you doing?!”

Nino’s panicked voice snapped him out of his reverie. Jun looked up to see Nino standing in front of him with a worried look on his face.

“I'm exercising?” Jun replied in confusion.

“Why are you exercising? You're going to hurt yourself!” Nino cried hysterically.

Jun rolled his eyes. “I'm pregnant, not an invalid, Kazunari. Exercising is not going to hurt me.” Honestly, and did Nino really think he was going to put the child in danger? The thought of Nino not trusting him made him frown.

“I don't want you hurt,” Nino said quietly. Jun smiled up at him reassuringly.

“I won't get hurt. I'm an Arashian. I should be the one to worry about you getting hurt.”

“Hmph!” Nino crossed his arms in consternation. “We’re not that fragile!”

Jun chuckled and resumed his push ups. “I know, but you're fragile to me.” He smirked when he heard Nino stomp off in annoyance. _Too easy._

After he was done exercising, Jun headed for the shower. As he stood under the water, he wondered what was going to happen in the next three months. He was worried about complications when it was time for labour, but he tried to be optimistic. It wouldn't do much for his nerves _or_ Nino’s if he expressed fears and concerns to his lover.

Complications weren’t common with Arashian pregnancies due to their strong bodies, but it still happened. He knew he was in good hands with Ohno as his doctor, but he couldn't help but fret. If the baby was fully Arashian, Jun wouldn’t be as worried as he was right now. But the child was mixed—half Arashian and half Amnosian. Jun didn’t know what to expect, especially considering Amnosians were much weaker than Arashians in general. Jun sighed and brushed his wet hair back with his hand. He hoped everything would work out.

 

One week into the fourth month of Jun’s pregnancy, Nino decided that it was time. He couldn't put it off any longer. His mother was getting super persistent about him visiting her, and Nino couldn't exactly ignore his mother’s constant nagging. When she wanted something, she _wanted_ something. Plus, Jun was starting to show and people were definitely going to ask questions in public soon. Questions that would need answers, and answers that would somehow reach his mother’s ears. She was good like that.

He turned his gaze to the left. Jun was lying on his side sleeping soundly. Jun had met his parents several times before, and they had all gotten along well. Heck, even his sister loved him, and that was rare in itself since she didn’t seem to like most people he had dated.

Nino wondered how his family members were going to take the news. His mother would probably be happy, he thought with an amused grin. She would finally get grandchildren from both of her children then. His father would probably find it strange at first, but would eventually accept it.

 _We haven't gone on a date in a while,_ Nino thought as he reached out to grab Jun’s hand. The last time they’d had one had been a few weeks ago after they went to city hall to hand in their marriage documents. They had gone for ice cream after that—it had been a while since they actually done anything together, especially because Jun was tired all the time. The sex was great, the relationship was great, but Nino actually missed going out to places with Jun. _I wonder if he's up for it today?_ he wondered as Jun let out a soft sigh in his sleep.

He startled when he felt a poke in his head. Nino turned his gaze to Jun’s face, but the other male gave no indication that he was awake.

‘Are you sleep nudging me?’ Nino asked, scooting closer to him on the bed.

‘No. Just relaxing,’ came the reply.

‘Did I wake you?’

‘No.’ Jun slowly opened his eyes. ‘I’ve been awake for a while.’

‘We have to visit my parents and tell them the news,’ Nino blurted out.

Jun nodded, his face the perfect picture of calm. ‘Okay.’

Nino blinked in surprise. ‘You're rather calm about this.’

Jun shrugged. ‘It's not like it's my first time meeting them. Besides, they will have to know eventually. They're going to be grandparents.’

‘Have you told your parents yet?’ he asked curiously.

Jun shook his head. ‘No, I haven't gotten the chance to contact them. They think I'm on a work assignment.’

Nino hesitated. ‘What do you think their response will be?’

Jun hummed, making a contemplative face as he thought about it. Nino waited for the answer nervously. ‘I think they'll be happy to get another grandchild,’ he finally said. ‘My sister has children, but my parents have always wanted some from me too.’

‘Do they even like me?’ Nino asked quietly.

‘Silly,’ Jun said fondly, ‘Of course they do.’

‘I don’t exactly visit Arashi if I can help it. They must think I’m a terrible son-in-law.’

It was true. He had not been back to Arashi since the beginnings of their relationship. He did speak to Jun’s parents whenever Jun was visiting them, but even then, it was hard to communicate because of the telepathy. They used verbal speech well, but they weren't used to it.

‘Why are you saying that?’ Jun asked in exasperation. ‘They like you. And if it's because of the spaceship sickness, they're understanding.’

Nino coloured and hid his face in his pillow. ‘That's embarrassing! They must think I'm really weak for that!’

He felt Jun shrug beside him. ‘It's not like you can help it. And you are weaker than us… biologically,’ he pointed out.

Nino lifted his head from the pillow to roll his eyes and poked Jun in the arm. “Don't underestimate us!” he said out loud in mock anger.

Jun snorted. “It's a fact.”

“Uh huh.”

The fell into a comfortable silence, just enjoying each other's presence. Nino watched as Jun yawned and closed his eyes again. His eyes travelled down to Jun’s stomach. There was a small pudge now, a sight that constantly fascinated him. Jun had always been all smooth planes and hard muscle. To see a small pudge of fat on his belly was surreal.

‘You’re staring again,’ Jun murmured. Nino’s eyes snapped up to Jun’s face. Jun’s purple eyes greeted him back.

‘I just find it so… weird,’ Nino breathed as his eyes went back to Jun’s stomach. He reached out to place a hand on top of it. ‘You’re showing now,’ he said in wonder. Jun placed his hand on top of Nino’s, intertwining their fingers together.

‘Well, I sure hope so. It means the child is growing,’ Jun said in amusement.

‘The pregnancy period is only six months… that’s amazing,’ Nino mused. ‘Arashian babies grow that fast?’

Jun shrugged. ‘Satoshi and I are assuming it’s six months. But the child is mixed—half Arashian and half Amnosian.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘We don’t exactly know when the child will be born,’ Jun said truthfully. ‘Satoshi assumes it’ll be the standard six months of an Arashian pregnancy. But it might be longer…’ he trailed off unsurely.

Nino blinked. ‘Oh… wow. I didn’t know that.’ Jun sighed and ran a hand through his hair. ‘How do you feel about that?’

Jun grimaced. ‘I’m hoping it doesn’t get any worse than it does right now. I’m tired and hungry all the time.’

Nino leaned close and kissed Jun on the cheek, warming at the bout of affection he felt from him for that. “Do you want to deep link?” Nino asked.

Jun flushed. “C-Can we?” he stuttered.

Nino nodded. “Of course. You don’t need to be nervous in asking me, Jun-kun.” He laughed when Jun rolled his eyes. “I'll deep link with you as much as you want, as long as I get a few days rest from it. Now come on, link with me. I have to go out for the groceries soon.”

 

“I'm a little… nervous.”

A few days later, Nino decided they couldn't avoid the inevitable any longer. Nino turned to look at Jun. His partner looked worried as they walked up the steps of his parents’ house.

“Why?” It was confusing to see Jun look unsettled when he had been the one telling Nino that it was going to go well.

“Suddenly… I don't know how your parents will react…” Jun mumbled, placing his hands behind his back. “What if they're… not accepting of me? Of the pregnancy?” Jun looked terrified.

Nino stared at him in disbelief. “Where did all your confidence go? You were just telling me the other day it was going to be alright!”

“Damn it, Kazunari, I'm pregnant! I don't know what I'm saying half the time!” Jun said angrily as they stood on top of the steps. “These damn mood swings,” he muttered darkly.

“It'll be okay. My parents aren't that closed-minded.” Nino pressed the doorbell. He could feel Jun tense beside him before the door opened to reveal his mother's scowling face.

“Ninomiya Kazunari,” she snapped, narrowing her eyes at him. She crossed her arms across her chest. “And you only visit us now?”

Nino gulped and moved closer to Jun, grabbing a hold of the bottom of his partner’s shirt. “Err… well… it has been a crazy past few months…” He could feel Jun flinch when she turned her gaze to him. There was a moment of silence where she stared at Jun for a couple of minutes. Just as Nino was about to say something, his mother finally broke the silence.

“Jun-kun dear, hello, how are you?” she greeted sweetly, opening the door wider. “Please, come in.”

Nino blinked owlishly as Jun stiffly walked inside, grabbing Nino’s hand and tugging him right inside with him.

“Right this way, Jun dear,” his mother said, watching them remove their shoes. She led them into the kitchen, walking a little ahead of them. Nino exchanged nervous glances with Jun. He felt Jun nudge him mentally.

‘Why is she acting like that?’ Jun asked, keeping a straight face as she told them to sit down.

Nino took a seat next to Jun and watched as his mother began to prepare tea. He looked back at Jun with wide eyes. ‘I have no idea. Do you think she knows?’

Jun’s eyebrows shot up. ‘But how? Is she familiar with Arashian biology?’

‘I… I don’t think so? She’s never mentioned it…’

His mother took a seat across from them. She turned to Nino with a frown. “Your father’s on a trip with your sister, if you were wondering.”

“A-ah…”

‘I think that—’

“How far along are you?” his mother asked, looking at Jun dead in the eye.. Nino almost spit out his drink at her, but he choked on it instead. Jun quickly patted him gently on the back to help him swallow. His mother looked at him unimpressed. When Nino finally got himself under control, he gaped at her.

“H-how did you know?!” he spluttered in bewilderment. His mother rolled her eyes at him.

“Honestly, I’m your mother. Both of you look like Amnos froze over, and the fact that Jun looks a little heavier than he usually does.” She pointed at his stomach. “It wasn’t hard to figure out.”

‘Your… your mother is good,’ Jun said in admiration.

Nino rolled his eyes. ‘She’s weird.’

“Yes, I’m with child,” Jun finally said with a nod. “I’m sorry for not letting you know sooner, Kazuko-san.” Nino watched as Jun gave a bow to her in apology. “Like Kazunari said earlier, it’s been hectic the past few months.”

Kazuko shook her head. “Don’t apologize, Jun-kun. It’s not your fault my son is useless and no good.”

“What did I do now?!” Nino complained.

‘She’s out to get me I swear,’ Nino said to Jun in exasperation. He narrowed his eyes when Jun didn’t say anything in response. _Traitor…_ Nino thought with a pout.

‘No one betrayed anyone!’ Jun protested.

“I hope the pregnancy is going well?” Nino felt a wave of surprise through his link with Jun.

“Ah… yes it is!” Jun replied nervously to his mother. “It’s a bit difficult since we’re getting close to the end, but it’s going good so far.”

Kazuko snapped her gaze to Nino and narrowed her eyes at him. “Have you been helping Jun-kun out?”

“Um…”

“Your partner is pregnant,” she scolded, “you better be helping him out and making things easier for him, boy!”

“Of course I am!” Nino immediately cried in response. “But he’s not as hopeless as you think he is!”

“So?” She snorted. “He’s still pregnant. How does that work anyway?” she asked curiously, looking over at Jun with wide eyes.

‘Oh no… why is she asking this?’ Nino asked Jun in despair.

“Mom—”

“Quiet, Kazunari,” his mother said, shooting him a look before turning back to Jun. “Is this an Arashian thing?” she gasped.

“I’m biologically able to carry children, Kazuko-san,” Jun replied with a sheepish grin. “We have it the natural way.”

“And you kids didn’t use protection? Was it Kazunari’s idea?” She snapped her gaze to her son. Nino flinched.

“I always suggest protection!” Nino cried. “Don’t blame it on me! It was Jun’s idea not to that one time!” Why was his mother blaming it all on him?! “It takes two to have a baby you know!”

Nino blinked when he felt a burst of emotion in his chest. He looked over at Jun to see the Arashian’s flushed face.

‘I can't believe we're talking about this…’ Jun said, dropping his face in his hands.

“When are you due?” Kazuko asked, ignoring her son.

Jun coughed before placing his hands in his lap. “We are assuming in two months? That's the standard length of pregnancy for an Arashian child—six months.”

“And you're assuming this because the child is mixed?”

Jun nodded. “I'm hoping it’s the standard six months. I'm not sure if it'll be any longer than that. Satoshi thinks it shouldn’t be longer than seven months at least.”

“A six-month pregnancy sounds like a dream,” she said with a sigh. “I hope it goes well.”

“Thank you.”

“Will you be having the child on Arashi?” Kazuko asked, getting up from the table to walk over to the fridge. She took out a plate of fruit. “Would you like some?” She walked back to the table and placed the plate between them.

“Thank you,” Jun said politely as he reached for a slice of fruit. Nino looked at him in amusement. “And yes, I’m planning to go back to Arashi soon to have the birth.”

Kazuko nodded. “That makes sense. You guys are better equipped for the delivery there. Will it be by C-section?” she asked curiously.

Jun frowned. “What’s that?”

She blinked at him in surprise. “You don’t know what it is?” She turned to Nino.

Nino looked at Jun carefully. “I don’t think they have that on Arashi, mom,” he said before turning back to her.

“Wow,” she said with a laugh, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. “I’m jealous. I had you through C-section, you know?” Nino shrugged.

‘What’s a C-section?’ Jun asked in confusion.

Nino looked back up at Jun. “A C-section is a caesarean section. Basically, they cut your stomach open and take the baby out.” He almost regretted telling Jun when he saw how pale the Arashian got.

“What?!” Jun shouted in horror. “That happens?!”

“Arashians don’t have that?” Kazuko asked curiously.

Jun shook his head, still looking appalled. “No, I have never heard of such a practice before.”

“So you guys don’t have complications during birth?”

Jun shook his head. “It’s very rare, but even if it does happen… we… we don’t cut people open.” He looked aghast at the thought.

 _Poor Jun,_ Nino thought as his mother explained how some Amnosians had to resort to C-section to have children. Jun looked like he wanted to run.

The rest of the visit went well. Nino and his mother bickered constantly, but he liked it. He had missed the easy bantering he had with his mother. He made a mental note to himself to visit his parents more often. Finally, when it was nearing the evening, the couple decided to say their farewells.

“Well, that went well,” Nino remarked when they walked back to the car together. Jun turned to him in astonishment. They still had the link on.

‘It did?’

Nino nodded. When they both settled in the car and Nino turned the engine on, he continued, ’Yeah, my mother seemed really happy with the news. It's a shame my father wasn't home.’

‘I don't understand,’ Jun said shaking his head. ‘She was constantly scolding and snapping at you the entire time.’

Nino chuckled and pulled out of the driveway. ‘I don't mind. I missed it actually.’

Jun furrowed his eyebrows at him. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Sometimes I miss arguing with someone like that,’ he said truthfully.

‘Arguing…?’

‘Yeah.’ Nino sent him a wry smile. ‘Don't take this the wrong way, Jun-kun. But sometimes I like that the other person doesn’t already know what's going on in my head when I'm arguing with them. I can't ever argue with you or Oh-chan unless we speak verbally, which is rare these days…’

“We can speak verbally if that’s what you prefer,” Jun suggested in Amnosian with a frown. “If you’re not comfortable—”

Nino sighed and shook his head, turning the car into the freeway. ‘No,’ he responded back in Arashian. ‘I already said I don’t mind.’

As they fell into a silence inside the car, Nino wondered if Jun was up to go on a date with him today. They hadn't been able to have any quality time together in a long time, especially since he was working (but Nino was trying to reduce his work hours) and Jun was in too bad of a mood most days to even leave the apartment.

“Hey Jun,” Nino said, once they stopped in front of a red light.

“Yeah?”

Nino turned to him with a grin. “Want to go on a date?”

Jun looked at him in surprise. “Right now?”

“Uh huh. I thought it would be nice.”

Jun shrugged. “Sure. Why not? I think some fresh air would do me some good.”

Nino took them to the Autumn Harvest Festival near the beach. It was a festival Amnosians celebrated for the whole month of November. Thankful to the spirits and the ancestors for bringing bountiful harvest, the month was filled with food and lots of fun festivities.

Nino watched as Jun looked at everything in amazement.

“You guys don't have something like this in Arashi, right?”

Jun shook his head. “We have winter festivals, but the celebrations aren't like this,” he replied.

“It'll be fun!” Nino exclaimed excitedly, reaching for Jun’s hand and intertwining their fingers together.

They headed for the food stalls first. They had had dinner at his parent’s house, but Jun had been complaining about being hungry earlier so they decided to eat first. After they bought their food, Nino took Jun to try out some of the games. They played a few games including balloon shooting and target shot. Nino had not been surprised that Jun did exceptionally well at those games, the games similar to Jun’s own target practices back in his home planet.

But now there was something that was bothering Nino. He watched Jun carefully. There was no use in asking Jun how he felt because the other male would lie to him anyway. Jun _hated_ appearing weak (at least in public anyway).

Jun’s pale complexion looked more flushed than usual. Nino was beginning to have his suspicions that Jun might be overexerting himself. He had initially assumed that it might be overheating, but the temperature was mild at the moment, and Nino himself was wearing a light jacket.

Just as they were turning to go towards the beach, Jun stumbled. Nino quickly caught him by the arm.

“Are you okay?” he asked in concern noting how prominent the flush on Jun’s face was now. “Let's sit down.”

Jun grunted in agreement. They stumbled over to a nearby bench. When Nino placed the back of his hand on Jun’s cheek, the heat startled him. Jun was burning!

“You’re overheating!” he exclaimed, quickly going through his bag for a water bottle. Jun groaned and took the bottle when Nino handed it to him, taking a long swig of water. When Jun was done with it a minute later, the water bottle was completely empty. “Why didn’t you tell me it was hot for you?” he asked in frustration.

“It… it was okay earlier,” Jun managed weakly as he handed Nino the empty bottle.

Nino snorted and sent him a glare before getting up from the bench.

“Right. That’s why you look like you’re going to pass out,” he said angrily. “Wait here, I’m going to buy something cold.”

When Nino returned with a cup of shaved ice in his hand, Jun was sitting at the bench looking miserable. “Don't give me that look. You should know better.” He shoved the cup in Jun’s hand.

“Hmph.”

Nino watched as Jun ate the ice, feeling frustrated with himself. How could he have not noticed sooner? If he was able to maintain a deep link with Jun at all times, would Nino be able to sense Jun’s discomfort more easily?

Truth to be told, sometimes Nino was frustrated that he wasn't able to give Jun the things he needed, such as maintaining a deep link for a long time. He knew that Jun didn't have a problem disconnecting from him every once in a while, and he knew that Jun deeply respected his need for privacy, but Nino hated that he couldn't give Jun more.

Once Jun finished eating, and Nino saw that he was looking much better than before, the two of them headed down closer to the water.

“This is one of my favourite things about Arashi,” Jun said when they settled down on the sand. Nino was going to regret his decision to not keep spare towels in his car later.

“The water?”

“No, we have water in Arashi, you know that. I meant the beach. The sand.” Jun ran a hand through it, letting the grains slowly fall from his hand. “I wish Arashi had a more moderate climate.”

Nino snorted and ran a hand through his hair. “I don't think that's a good idea. Your people would overheat all the time.”

Jun looked down at him in amusement. “And maybe we’d have to eat shaved ice more often to keep ourselves cool.”

Nino laughed and looked down at his bare feet in the sand. “You're a strange one, Jun.”

Jun nudged his shoulder gently with his. “Takes one to know one.”

When they finally decided that it was time to go home, they walked back to the car hand in hand. The day had gone well, and Nino knew that Jun was happy with how everything had played out at his parents’ place.

Now they just had to get through the pregnancy.

 

As Jun got deeper into his fourth month, it definitely didn’t get any easier (not that he had expected it to). In addition to the exhaustion he felt most days, Jun got intense cravings that he just couldn’t satisfy. Despite all the delicious foods on Amnos, Jun missed certain Arashian dishes. Being on Amnos was making the pregnancy hard, much harder than he had originally thought.

‘How's your sex life?’ Ohno asked when Jun went for his check up.

‘Good. Really good. But I'm so tired all the time, so I don't really want to do it.’

‘... so it's good?’ Ohno asked in confusion.

Jun nodded, a slight flush on his cheeks. ‘Yeah, he mostly does all the work…’

‘Oh! Oh, okay.’

‘And I'm really craving glacier fish,’ Jun said with a sigh. Ohno looked at him in amusement as he placed the documents in his hands on the table, scribbling something on the top sheet.

‘Unfortunately, we don't have any here.’

Jun sighed and crossed his arms. ‘I want glacier fish, I want cross fish, I want all fish.’

‘When do you plan on going back? Nino told me you overheated the other day. Apparently it's getting more frequent?’ Ohno asked worriedly.

‘He told you that?’ Jun asked with a grimace.

Ohno raised an eyebrow at him. ‘Why wouldn't he?’

Jun shrugged. ‘I didn't think it was a big deal.’

Ohno rolled his eyes. ‘Jun, you overheated three times. That's way too many. You're lucky Nino knows what to do after he called me in hysterics.’

Jun gaped at him. Nino had called Ohno? ‘Wait, what?!’

‘After you overheated for the second time apparently,’ Ohno sent him a pointed look, ‘he called me and asked how he could treat you better if it happened again.’

Jun sulked. He didn't want Nino to have to worry about him.

‘Just take it easy,’ Ohno reminded him, patting his friend on the hand.

Jun sighed. ‘I'll try.’

Just as he was about to get up from the chair, Ohno stopped him.

‘Jun.’

‘Hm?’

‘When do you plan on going back?’

‘To Arashi?’

Ohno nodded and placed his hands under his thighs, sending Jun an inquiring look. ‘Yeah. I don't know if it's a good idea to remain on this planet now.’

‘Because of the overheating?’ Jun asked in annoyance. It had _only_ happened a few times. He was fine.

Ohno narrowed his eyes at him. ‘Yes. And the cravings. And the fact that I can help treat you better if we are back home. I'm running out of supplies.’

Jun didn't know what he wanted to do. On one hand, he didn't want to leave for home so soon, but on the other hand, Jun knew that going back would be much easier for his health. _And also the fact that Kazunari needs to get on that ship as well,_ he thought with a grimace. Fun.

Jun shook his head. ‘Let me talk to Kazunari first? I want to ask him his opinion first before we decide anything.’

Ohno nodded. ‘Of course. Let me know. I'll ask Masaki if he can lend us his ship for the journey home.’

‘Are you guys better?’ Jun asked curiously as he got up from his seat again. Ohno watched as he began grabbing his things, throwing his bag over his shoulder, then shrugged.

‘Sure.’

‘You guys seem happy.’

Ohno smiled softly. ‘I think so.’

Jun grinned back at him and headed for the door. ‘Well, I'll let you know what happens when I speak to Kazunari about it.’

Ohno gave him a wave. ‘I'll see you later.’

 

When Nino came home from work and sat down for dinner, Jun decided to pop the question at then.

“What do you think of me going back early?” Jun asked, once they settled in.

“What do you mean?” Nino asked, placing his chopsticks back down on the table.

“Satoshi asked me today if I wanted to go back home.”

“To Arashi? Oh-chan said that?” Nino asked in confusion.

“Yeah, Satoshi said it's probably best if I did,” Jun explained, watching as Nino picked up his chopsticks again.

“Well… do you want to?” Nino asked, picking at his food, before meeting his gaze.

“Would you come back with me if I did?” Jun blurted out in question. He watched as Nino grimaced a bit before nodding. Jun felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. He didn’t know why he was nervous asking Nino that, especially when he knew Nino would’ve probably said yes anyway.

“Yeah, of course I would. You want me to, right?” Nino questioned, sending him a curious look.

“Yeah.” Jun smiled. “I definitely do.” Then he remembered that Nino still had work. “Will your superiors let you take leave though?” he asked worriedly.

“Yep,” Nino said. “I had to change my marital status last month, so they know I’m married _and_ expecting a child. I just need to let them know a few weeks in advance for my leave.”

“That sounds great!” Jun said happily as he began piling food into his bowl. “I was hoping to leave by early next month.”

Nino nodded. “That’s perfect. It should be enough time to inform my bosses.”

“The sooner the better,” Jun remarked. Nino smirked.

“Well, wouldn’t that be nice?” he asked before chuckling.

Jun was in a good mood for the rest of the evening.

 

“Do you have everything?”

“Yes, mother, you already asked me this five times.”

A couple of weeks later, Jun and Nino were standing at the station ready to board their ship to Arashi. After Nino had gotten permission to take his paternity leave for the next several months, Jun had immediately notified Ohno and the doctor had arranged a ship with Aiba to take them back to Arashi as soon as possible. Secretly, Jun was excited. It had been years since Nino had visited Arashi, and he couldn’t wait to have Nino with him in his home planet for a year.

“You are going to be there for at least a year,” Jun said, looking at Nino with a frown. “Don’t come crying to me when you realized you forgot something because you were too busy packing all your video games.”

“I triple-checked my belongings,” Nino replied with a roll of his eyes. “I’m good, Jun.” he patted his backpack. “And I can get stuff from Arashi if I need it.”

“Hmm…”

“Are we supposed to be waiting for the other two?”

“I don't know, I was wondering that myself.”

Jun turned around at the reply that definitely did not come from Nino.

“Sho!” Nino exclaimed in surprise beside him. “What are you doing here?”

Sho smiled sheepishly at them. Jun noticed that he was dressed in casual clothing—a loose red and black checkered dress shirt and black jeans—with a messenger bag slung over his shoulder.

“Hitching a ride with you guys,” Sho said, grinning at Nino. “Junichi and the kids are on Arashi, and I just managed to book some time off to visit them.”

“The more the merrier,” Jun said with a nod. Sho beamed at him.

“Yes! I hope you guys don't mind?”

“Of course not,” Nino said rolling his eyes. “I'm more surprised that you took time off.”

“Hey!” Sho protested, pretending to be hurt by that comment. “I'm not all work and no play!”

“Sure sure.”

“Hey guys! Sorry we’re late!”

The three of them turned to see Aiba and Ohno running up to them.

“Did you guys wait long?” Aiba asked when they reached the trio.

“No, I just got here,” Sho replied, waving at the both of them in greeting.

“Sorry, sorry!” Aiba exclaimed, looking a little frantic. Jun turned his gaze towards Ohno, who looked calm beside the energetic Amnosian. “Let's get going then.”

‘Everything okay?’ Jun asked when Ohno let down his shields as the group was making their way to the ship.

‘I guess?’ Ohno’s tone was strange. In front of him, his friend shrugged. Jun exchanged a look with Nino.

‘You guys didn't fight again, did you?’

Jun felt a flash of confusion from Ohno before it faded.

‘I… I don't know anymore…’

‘What do you mean?’ He frowned.

‘We haven't been okay for a while now. I thought we were…’ Ohno replied sulkily. ‘He's been distant.’

‘Distant?’

Jun could see Ohno’s figure deflate in resignation. ‘He doesn't seem to respond to my touches anymore. I don't know what I'm supposed to think, Jun.’

He felt a nudge against his arm. Jun looked down to see Nino giving him a concerned look.

 _Everything okay?_ Nino mouthed at him. Jun shook his head. He didn't know himself, but it didn't look good.

 _Tell you later,_ he mouthed back. Nino nodded and turned to the front again.

They finally stopped in front of a large government ship.

“This is yours?” Jun asked in disbelief. It was huge!

Aiba grinned. “Yeah, it's my ship that I use for my diplomatic missions.”

“Is it okay for us to use it then?” Sho asked worriedly, looking at his friend hesitatingly. “I don't want you to get into trouble.”

Aiba placed an arm around his friend’s shoulder. “Sho-chan, it's fine! It's my ship! And I think I have plenty of reason to use it anyway!” He looked at Jun and Nino and winked at them. “We are helping with interspecies romance.”

“I think we are past the romance stage,” Nino drawled, crossing his arms, his cheeks dusted pink at the comment. “Like, _way_ past that stage.”

“Same thing,” Aiba said, making a dismissive gesture at him. “Let’s go! You guys can choose your rooms too!”

As they proceeded to walk to the ship, Jun kept a close eye on Aiba and Ohno. There was definitely something going on between the two like Ohno had said. Aiba had not even looked over at Ohno once. Jun frowned. He hoped the trip to Arashi would be peaceful at least.

Once everyone headed inside the ship, Nino and Jun headed for their shared quarters for the trip. When the couple entered their room, Jun immediately headed for the bed. He was planning to lie in bed the whole way there..

“Are you okay?” Nino asked, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Jun sighed when Nino began rubbing his shoulder blades in small circles.

“Tired. Thank goodness this trip won’t take a whole day,” Jun groaned, burying his face in the pillow.

“I'm going to be useless in a bit, so if you need something from me now, you should ask me while you can,” Nino said sheepishly as Jun turned to face him.

“A kiss?” Jun asked with a grin. Nino chuckled but moved his hand to the nape of Jun’s neck and leaned down. Jun sighed when he felt Nino’s lips against his. Nino hummed happily, his fingers stroking Jun’s hair gently while he coaxed Jun’s mouth open with his tongue. Jun reached up to lay a hand on his shoulder, pulling him closer until Nino decided to climb on top of him. The kiss became heated as they battled for dominance, a game of push and pull between them.

When they parted, they were both panting softly. Nino rested his forehead against Jun’s, closing his eyes. Jun caressed Nino’s back gently, enjoying the warmth and light weight of his lover on top of him. After a few moments of silence, Nino lifted his head and brought his hand down to feel Jun’s stomach.

“Did you get bigger?” he asked in surprise as he lifted himself off of Jun and straddled his waist.

“A little,” Jun said, watching as Nino lifted his shirt to look at his stomach. “I’ll balloon next month.”

“Balloon?” Nino asked in confusion, placing a hand on Jun’s stomach.

“Yeah, my stomach will grow very fast next month. Happens to all of us. No idea why.” Jun grimaced. He really wasn’t looking forward to that. It was going to be hard to get used to the waddling he might be doing.

“Hmmm…” Nino rubbed his tummy, fingers brushing lightly over the bump on Jun’s stomach now. “I’m interested to see what you’ll look like.” He grinned at Jun.

“I’m not looking forward to it,” Jun said with a sigh.

“I am!” Nino laughed when Jun rolled his eyes. Suddenly, a soft beep rang.

“Hey guys!”

Jun and Nino snapped their heads up to the ceiling. It was Aiba.

“We’re going to depart soon. So buckle up, please! I’ll let you know when it’s safe to remove your belts. Thanks!” He ended the announcement with another soft beep of the intercom.

Nino sighed and reluctantly climbed off of Jun. “Time to go. I’m going to be sick.” He watched as Jun stood up.

“I’m sure it won’t be that bad?” Jun said in concern as the two of them walked over to the seats near the corner of the room. They both took a seat and put on their belts.

“I have no confidence this will go well,” Nino said with a grimace, balling his hands into fists.

Jun patted him gently on the thigh.

 

After they took off, Jun had to carry Nino over to his bed. His lover’s illness had almost taken place instantaneously, and Nino had been completely quiet the entire take off. Jun felt bad for him, but he was relieved that they were taking Aiba’s ship—it was faster.

Nino grumbled at him as Jun took a seat on the edge of the bed, looking down at him. “I hate this…” he mumbled, clutching at the covers.

“Still, eh?” Jun asked with a sigh.

“What do you mean still? It’s always been like this,” Nino snapped, sulking.

“I thought it would’ve gotten better by now,” Jun remarked.

“No.”

“Try to sleep,” Jun suggested, tucking him in. “Maybe that will help?”

“I doubt that will work, but I’ll try,” Nino replied miserably. “You should get some rest too.”

Jun nodded. “Yeah, I will. I’m feeling a little bushed.”

Nino scooted back on the bed to make room for him. “Sleep with me? Please?” Nino asked quietly.

Jun sighed and shook his head. “You know that’s not a good idea. I could crush you.”

“I really doubt you can. I can lie on top of you?” Nino begged. “Please, I just don’t want to be alone right now.”

Jun didn't want to argue the issue any further, so he decided to let it slide this one time, especially since Nino looked incredibly miserable. He slipped under the covers with him, allowing Nino to adjust himself and lie partly on top of him to make some room. Nino grumbled and buried his face in Jun’s shirt and let out a soft sigh. Jun patted Nino gently on the back until the other man fell asleep.

He didn't fall asleep yet—he couldn't. Jun wondered what would change when Nino stayed with him. There was no way they could travel back and forth between planets with the baby that often until it was at least a year old. Travelling alone was stressful enough, and Jun didn't want to put the baby through that. Nino wouldn't be abandoning him once the baby was born—he had managed to apply for paternal leave before he left. That was something at least. Nino had told him that he would be able to stay with Jun for at least half a year, but he hadn't told him much about what would happen after that.

 _It was better than nothing,_ Jun thought as he looked down at the sleeping man in his arms. Nino's complexion was already pale, but had gotten paler due to his motion sickness. He brushed his fingers through the man's hair. It was getting longer. Nino shifted in his slumber but remained asleep.

Jun was a little relieved he was returning home. He missed his family, and he wanted to see his friends again. Plus, he could finally eat what he had been craving for the past few months. Jun couldn't wait. He gave Nino a gentle kiss on the forehead before closing his eyes.

 

Nino woke up a couple of hours later. He blinked as he found that he had somehow managed to find himself to be lying almost completely on top of Jun.

Jun’s arm was wrapped loosely around Nino's waist as he snoozed quietly.

It had been years since he visited Arashi. He wished he was able to visit his partner’s planet more often, but his stupid illness made things hard. Nino closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. He was still feeling dizzy, but much better than before.

“Awake?”

Nino almost jumped from the sudden break in the silence. He watched as Jun opened one eye to look at him before closing it again, sighing. Nino snuggled closer to him, breathing in his partner's familiar scent.

“Can't sleep anymore,” Nino replied. “Did I wake you?”

“No.” Jun scrunched his face, making a cute expression before opening his eyes again.

“Liar.” Nino chuckled before shifting on top of Jun into a more comfortable position.

Jun hummed and reached up with on hand to brush Nino’s bangs away from his face. “If you’re feeling guilty, you can make it up to me?” He gave him a cheshire grin.

Nino rolled his eyes, smirking as he pulled one of his sleeves up to the elbow. “I’m afraid I can’t do anything with my mouth, so you’ll have to make do with my hand. Good enough for you?” He was already reaching for Jun’s pants.

“Sounds good,” Jun replied breathily as Nino slipped a hand under the waistband of his pants.

 

When Jun fell back to sleep, Nino slowly removed himself from Jun’s embrace and climbed out of the bed. Looking back to make sure he didn’t wake his partner, he began to make his way out the room. He was still feeling dizzy, but Nino knew that he had to see Aiba. He had forgotten to ask Jun about his conversation with Ohno earlier, but Nino decided that hearing it from Aiba was probably better.

As he made his way over to Aiba’s quarters, he had to stop every few minutes to allow the dizziness to pass. Just as he was about to move again, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Nino nearly jumped out of his skin and spun around.

“Nino!” Sho exclaimed in surprise.

“Oh my goodness, Sho-chan! You scared the shit out of me!” Nino wheezed, trying to calm down the rapid beating of his heart. He hadn’t heard Sho behind him at all.

“Sorry! I guess I should’ve called you first, huh?” Sho asked, chuckling as Nino sunk to the floor with a grimace. “What are you doing out here?”

“I wanted to talk to Masaki,” Nino replied with a whine. “Help me up?” He gave Sho a hand and the man pulled him up to his feet. “Thanks.”

“What were you planning to talk to Masaki about? I was just on my way there as well.” Nino sighed in relief when Sho wrapped an arm around Nino as they began walking down the hall together.

“Oh-chan.”

Sho chuckled. “Really? I was going to ask him about that myself.”

“Something’s up…” Nino said, frowning as they finally made their way in front of their friend’s door. Sho nodded.

“Yeah, I was observing them earlier. Masaki hardly even looked at Ohno-kun.”

Nino sighed. “I’ve let this stew for too long. I should’ve intervened earlier.”

Sho patted him on the arm, shaking his head. “Don’t blame yourself. I should’ve done something too. Better late than never, right?”

Nino shrugged and watched as Sho pressed the button to alert Aiba that they were outside of his room.

“I’m worried that late is too late…” he mumbled before the intercom turned on.

“Yes?”

Nino frowned at the quiet response they got from him. He exchanged a look with Sho before his friend began speaking.

“Hey Masaki. It’s Sho and Nino.”

“Hi guys.”

Sho frowned, clearly worried about the usual lack of warmth and enthusiasm coming from their friend.

“Can we come in?”

“Why?”

Well, he sounded confused at least. Nino remained silent as Sho continued to speak with Aiba.

“We just want to talk. We haven’t had a chance to hang out together lately.”

There was a long pause. Nino frowned. Something was definitely going on. Just as he decided to speak up, Aiba beat him to it.

“Can we… can we do it later? I’m not in the mood right now…”

Nino rolled his eyes. This was going to get them nowhere. He held a hand up in front of Sho’s face before leaning forward to speak in the intercom.

“Aiba Masaki,” Nino began sternly, “you better open up this door, or I’ll tell your mother what you did that one summer with Erika.”

“You promised you wouldn’t mention it!” Aiba squawked.

“I won’t if you open this door!” Nino retorted.

He heard his friend grumbling before letting out a sigh. “Fine.”

Nino nodded and gave Sho a thumbs up. Sho looked back at him in amusement.

The door finally opened to reveal Aiba. Nino narrowed his eyes at his friend’s face. He had on a neutral expression. If someone who didn’t know Aiba very well saw him, they wouldn’t think much about it. But Nino and Sho _knew_ Aiba. And Aiba was upset. Nino had to figure out what the hell was going on between him and Ohno.

“Thanks Masaki,” Sho said as he and Nino hobbled inside the room. Nino winced as he was suddenly hit with a spell of dizziness. He groaned when he felt another pair of arms wrap around his waist and carry him over to the couch in the room.

“Thanks,” Nino mumbled as he held onto his head.

“What are you doing out of your room?” Aiba asked, looking at him with a frown. Nino rolled his eyes.

“I wanted to talk to you.”

 _“We,”_ Sho piped up. “I wanted to talk to you too.” He took a seat next to Nino.

AIba sighed and took a seat at the armchair. “I think I know why you guys are here.”

Nino nodded. “Well, since you know why we’re here, let’s get to it: what the hell is going on between you two?”

Aiba pursed his lips before averting his gaze. Sho sent Nino a look of disappointment before turning to his friend.

“We want to help, Masaki,” Sho said kindly, “what’s going on between you and Satoshi-kun?”

“Nothing,” Aiba replied after a moment. Nino raised an eyebrow at him.

“What do you mean?”

Aiba shook his head and looked at the both of them. “Exactly what I said: Nothing. We broke up.”

“What?!” Nino exclaimed in shock. When the heck had that happened?!

Sho had looked taken back by the admission as well. “Why did you break up?”

“It wasn’t working. Our lifestyles are too different,” Aiba said with a sigh. “And I… I don’t know what Satoshi thinks of us.”

“What do you mean?” Sho asked in confusion.

“He doesn’t really… talk about our relationship,” Aiba mumbled. “And our careers… we only see each other a few times a year…”

Nino snorted. “That’s more than Jun and I, Masaki.”

“But you guys are together!” Aiba exclaimed. “I don’t know what Satoshi and I are! And I’m getting a transfer soon so I won’t be able to see him as much as I want to.” He sighed, his eyes downcast.

“You guys seem like more than just a casual fling to me,” Nino remarked. “I would say you guys are actually a couple.”

Sho nodded in agreement. “Out of curiosity,” Sho said, furrowing his brow, “you and Satoshi have linked before, right? I’m assuming so since you’ve guys been together for a while.”

Aiba looked at him with a frown. “Linked?” He rubbed the nape of his neck as he thought about it. “Yeah… I guess? I don’t really understand them though… Satoshi didn’t really explain it to me.”

Sho blinked before asking in a surprised tone, “Really? He’s never said anything about it?”

“No, not really. We don’t really talk about it.”

Nino wanted to facepalm. _Problem number one,_ he thought with a grimace.

Sho sighed before rubbing his forehead with his hand. “You really don’t know anything about Arashian links?” he asked in disbelief.

Aiba shrugged. “I only know a little bit about it. Most of the Arashians I meet talk to me verbally.”

“How kind of them,” Nino mumbled before looking over at Sho, who looked at their friend in exasperation.

“Okay,” Sho said incredulously. He held up three fingers. “There are three different kinds of links that Arashians have—casual, steady, and deep links.”

Aiba raised his eyebrows. “Three?”

Sho nodded and continued, “Each link is different. A casual link is basically named after what it’s called. Arashians establish this when they talk to each other. Just like what we are doing now.”

Aiba nodded. “That makes sense.”

Sho dropped one finger. “The second type of link they have is a steady link. Steady links are a step up from casual links. With Arashians, it’s usually between family members, close friends, or with a partner they’re dating, but haven’t had sex with yet. I believe they do steady links with non-Arashians, or with races that can’t handle mental links well too.” He looked over at Nino for confirmation.

Nino nodded. “Yeah. If I’m not doing a deep link with Jun, we’re mostly doing a steady link. It’s much easier for my head.”

Sho smiled. “For me as well.” He turned back to Aiba. “Steady links are common for Arashians who date non-Arashians. You can also feel emotions that the other person is feeling if they allow it.”

Aiba looked astonished. “Wow. I didn’t know that! I’ve definitely felt his emotions before..”

Sho chuckled and nodded as he dropped another finger. “I would assume so. It makes sense for you two to have established a steady link from time to time. And the last link is the deep link. It’s the most important and revered link among Arashians.”

“Oh! Why?”

“The deep link is special and they only form it with people they really love,” Sho explained, grinning. “It’s kind of like marriage for them.”

Aiba blinked. “Marriage?”

“Yes. You know that Arashians generally mate for life, right?”

Aiba nodded slowly. “Yes…”

“So deep links are only established between couples who are very serious,” Sho explained. “They’re beautiful. Couples who establish deep links usually hold it all the time. Unfortunately, non-Arashians aren’t able to.”

“Why is that?” Aiba asked curiously.

“Our minds just can’t handle it,” Sho replied with a shake of his head. “I can only hold it with Junichi for two days.”

“Four days for me,” Nino said.

Aiba looked at Sho in surprise. “Why only two?”

Sho laughed and looked at him sheepishly. “Junichi says it’s because I think too much. Therefore, I can’t handle the pressure of having another mind within my mind.”

“And you guys both have done it with your partners?” Aiba asked, intrigued with the whole concept.

Nino nodded. “Yep. We’re as good as married.” He held up his left hand, flashing the ring.

“It’s a very beautiful experience,” Sho said with a soft smile. “You basically become one with each other.”

“Become one?”

“Your thoughts mesh together, you feel everything that your partner feels… it’s basically like the two of you would have one mind.”

Aiba blinked owlishly. “Feel… everything?” he asked hesitantly.

“Yeah. You share one mind,” Sho clarified.

Aiba’s eyes widened before he stared down at his lap. He then looked up at them in disbelief before looking back down at his lap.

Nino looked at him worriedly. “Masaki, are you okay?”

Aiba began breathing heavily, eyes wide as he gripped the armrests of his chair.

“Masaki!” Sho called, looking at him in concern. “What’s wrong?”

“Guys,” Aiba said shakily, balling his hands into fists. “I… I think I made a deep link with Satoshi…” he whispered the last part in disbelief.

Nino’s eyebrows shot up. A deep link? He looked over at Sho who looked back at him in astonishment. If Ohno and Aiba had established a deep link together, like what Aiba was claiming, there were some serious misunderstandings going on.

“Are you sure, Masaki?” Sho asked, trying to get Aiba to elaborate. Nino shifted on the couch as Aiba nodded frantically.

“Yes,” Aiba choked out. “I’m pretty sure we did.” He looked up at them, tears appearing in his eyes. “I can feel Satoshi’s feelings every time I visit him. And the past several months he was here with me, we’ve linked all the time. I can even feel his emotions when I’m at work.” He covered his face with his hands, his breath hitching as he tried to gain his tears under control. “Shitshitshitshit…” Nino and Sho watched him hopelessly as Aiba rubbed at his face harshly.

“Well,” Sho said after a brief pause, looking completely flabbergasted, “that definitely sounds like a deep link to me.”

Nino stared at Aiba in disbelief. They actually had a deep link and Aiba hadn’t known about it? “When did this start?” he snapped. “You’re sure? And he’s _never_ talked to you about it?”

Aiba looked up, his eyes red as he wiped the tears away with the back of his hand. “It’s… it’s a little complicated…” he mumbled.

“Tell me.” Nino narrowed his eyes at him. He needed to know what the hell had happened between them.

Aiba looked between the two of them, eyes darting back and forth. “It happened last year,” he began, trying to calm himself down. “Satoshi… he… he wasn’t feeling well when he came back from work. It was—he had a rough day— ” Aiba rubbed a hand across his face. “So— we— I mean—we had sex.” He picked at the fabric of his pants, face turning red. “And I… I think Satoshi did it by accident…”

“Accident?” Nino asked incredulously. “How does someone just do a deep link by accident?!”

“I don’t think he knew what he was doing,” Aiba said with a shake of his head. “He was really shaken up by what happened at work, and I was honestly really scared for him,” he admitted quietly. “I’ve never seen Satoshi so broken like that before…”

“That sounds possible,” Sho said, rubbing his temples with his fingers. “He probably made one with you by accident because he was in such a vulnerable state.”

“And… he did ask me at the end—well, he apologized first which I never knew why but now I do—if I was okay with the link. But I never knew it was a deep link.” Aiba looked at them with wide eyes. “How could I have not known that was a deep link?!” he exclaimed as tears streamed down his cheeks again.

“It’s not your fault,” Sho said, trying to calm him down. “Links aren’t kept as secrets, but they’re not common knowledge unless you deal with them on a personal level.”

“I fucked up!” Aiba wailed, hiding his face in his hands. “I fucked up! I broke up with him because I never knew how he truly felt about us because he never really told me, but he was actually serious about us this entire time! What am I going to do?” he asked them, looking completely upset. “I truly messed things up!”

Nino shot him a sharp look. “Well, you have to get back together with him, yes? You _do,_ want to, right?”

Aiba nodded. “I…” he began hesitantly, “I think I love him,” he said quietly.

“Well, I sure do hope so. Since you’re a complete wreck about this. Honestly,” Nino said in exasperation. “This is why you have to _talk_.” Sho nodded in agreement.

Aiba frowned. “Satoshi doesn’t really talk.”

Obviously. “There you go. That’s one of your problems. And stop crying,” Nino said narrowing his eyes at him.

“What should I do?” Aiba asked miserably as he stared down at his lap.

“You should—”

“Nino?”

Nino snapped his head towards the door. Jun stood in the doorway, looking at the three of them in bewilderment.

“Jun!” Nino scrambled to get up but suddenly realized that was a bad idea when he felt a spell of dizziness hit him. “Oh shit—”

Jun managed to reach him before he fell, catching him before he toppled over.

“He's fast!” Nino heard Aiba whisper to Sho.

“Hello Jun-kun,” Sho greeted after Jun managed to get Nino to stand upright again.

“Hi guys. I'm sorry for interrupting,” Jun said sheepishly.

“It's fine.”

Jun looked over at Aiba, who was busy trying to wipe the tear tracks from his face.

“Is everything okay?” Jun asked, after the trio had fallen silent.

Nino perked up. “Actually—Jun, you might be the perfect one to answer this. What does Ohno—”

“No!” Aiba shouted, cutting in with a fierce shake of his head, his cheeks flushed red. “It's nothing, Jun-kun.” Nino looked at his friend in annoyance. “I think Nino should probably go back to his room. He doesn't look so good.”

Jun frowned and looked at the group warily but nodded nonetheless. “Okay then.” He looked down at Nino who just clung onto him. “Want to go?”

“Sure. I think I need to lie down,” he mumbled. As they passed the other two, Nino sent Aiba a pointed look. He definitely wasn't going to let this one go.

“So what did you want to tell me back there?” Jun asked when they got back to their shared bedroom.

Nino sighed and dropped down on the bed. “It was about Oh-chan.” He was never leaving this bed until they landed.

“I figured.” Jun looked down at him in amusement. “What did you need to ask me?”

“You need to talk to Oh-chan,” Nino mumbled, snuggling into the covers.

“Satoshi?” Jun asked in confusion. “Why?”

“Those two idiots have a huge misunderstanding going on, and it’s all because they don’t know how to talk.”

Jun chuckled. “Satoshi doesn’t have much to say unless he really likes something.”

“That’s surprising,” Nino said, rolling his eyes. “Did you know they have a deep link?”

“... What?!” Jun yelped as his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Yep. Apparently they had it since last year. Who would have thought, eh?” Nino snorted. “Except Masaki never knew they had one, and Oh-chan apparently assumed Masaki knew what it was, and they never bothered to talk things out, and so now we have two broken people angsting over a breakup that shouldn’t have happened.”

“Breakup?!?” Jun exclaimed.

“Yes. We need to help them.” Nino stared up at Jun sternly. “Please talk to Oh-chan and get his side of the story. For my sanity, your sanity, everyone’s sanity.”

Jun nodded, frowning at the revelation. “Wow…”

“Our friends are drama queens,” Nino whined before he paled. “And I-I'm going to be sick…!”

Jun quickly ran for the bowl.


	7. VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way too long... I apologize. I'm not very happy with this chapter. Anyway, no updates until after Nino Ex! Maybe I should just finish everything and post it all in one go.
> 
> The next chapter is the last one before the epilogue.

“Bless land! I will never take you for granted ever again!”

Nino let out a sob before falling on all fours onto the ground. Finally, after hours of travelling through space (and emptying the contents of his stomach at the trashcan nearby), they arrived at Arashi. He stared at the floor, tempted to kiss the ground in happiness. It felt so good to be on _solid_ ground.

“Well, that certainly is quite a reaction,” Sho remarked, looking down at him in amusement. Nino scowled up at him.

“I _hate_ travelling,” he spat.

“Good,” Jun said, walking up to them from behind. “because you won't be doing any when—” Nino watched in horror as Jun swayed on his feet. Sho quickly reached out to catch him, struggling to keep him on his feet. Jun wasn’t exactly the lightest person around.

“Jun!” Nino shouted fearfully. He quickly stood up to help Sho.

There was a blur and Ohno appeared by Jun’s side in an instant. He quickly took Sho’s spot and wrapped an arm around Jun’s waist, supporting his weight.

“I’m okay….” Jun groaned, leaning against Ohno for balance.

Ohno sent him a sharp glare. “No you're not. You're pale, and your heart is beating too fast for my liking.” He had a hand over Jun’s chest. “And you're dehydrated. We need to get you to the hospital.”

“Will Jun be okay?” Sho asked in concern, watching as Jun slumped against Ohno.

“He will. We just need to get him some medications,” Ohno replied, glaring at his friend. His expression changed when he turned to Nino and gave him a reassuring smile. “Nothing to worry about, Nino. He's in good hands here.”

Nino nodded helplessly as Ohno pulled out his portable device. He almost jumped when he felt a nudge in his mind.

‘Don't worry…’

Nino snorted and crossed his arms, looking at Jun in annoyance. ‘I find that request a little hard to comply with.’

‘I’m fine,’ Jun insisted weakly. Nino rolled his eyes as Ohno spoke on the phone, asking for a someone to come pick them up.

‘Who’s he calling?’ Nino asked curiously as Ohno spoke in rapid Arashian.

‘My friend, Toma.’

“Do you guys need a ride?” Ohno asked, turning to Sho and Aiba. Well, he was looking more at Sho and ignoring Aiba completely. Nino saw Aiba’s hurt expression when he realized Ohno refused to look at him.

Sho shook his head. “Junichi is coming to pick me up.” He turned to Aiba curiously and moved closer to him. “Where are you heading to, Masaki?”

Aiba tensed before letting out a nervous laugh. “Oh.. uh… I guess I’ll be heading to the embassy.”

“Where are you staying?” Jun asked him, shifting against Ohno to a more comfortable position. Nino reached up to brush away the bangs from his face. His skin was clammy. Jun leaned into his touch.

“Ah… probably the embassy?” Aiba suggested hesitantly.

Sho frowned and placed a hand on his friend’s arm worriedly. “Are you sure? You can stay with Junichi and I, Masaki. We don’t mind. And the kids will be happy to have you.”

Aiba shot a quick glance at Ohno before turning back to Sho and shook his head. “It’s okay, Sho-kun. I’ll manage. I have some work I need to get done.”

“Well, if you’re sure…” Sho trailed off with a frown.

“Toma’s coming in ten minutes,” Ohno announced, switching back to Amnosian. “Did you need anything else in the meantime?” Nino watched as the shorter Arashian looked up at his friend with a frown, inspecting his face for any more signs of discomfort.

“No,” Jun groaned, “but a bed would be nice…”

“I told you before that you need to be careful,” Ohno said with a sigh. “You’re easily prone to these spells.”

Jun scowled. “I’m not weak.”

Ohno rolled his eyes. Nino watched as the two of them switched their conversation mentally, their eyes narrowing at each other every so often as they argued. He turned over to look at Aiba. Sho was speaking to him quietly off to the side. He sighed. He hoped Aiba would be able to make up with Ohno soon. He hated seeing his friend sad. Nino made a mental note to call Aiba after Jun was taken care of.

 

‘Looks like you’re all good to go,’ Ohno said, pulling the thermometer away from Jun’s mouth.

A couple of hours later, they were at the hospital. Sho and Aiba had gone their separate ways from the group while Toma had driven the rest of the group to the nearest hospital. Nino had stepped out half an hour ago with Toma to get something to eat while Ohno continued to check up on him.

‘Perfect.’ Jun let out a sigh and stretched his arms. ‘I really want to go home,’ he grumbled.

‘Get plenty of rest,’ Ohno reminded him, sending him a pointed look. ‘You’re still not 100 percent.’

‘Yes, Doctor Satoshi,’ Jun drawled sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. ‘I need to call Kazunari…’

Ohno chuckled and moved over to sit at his temporary desk. He was wearing his healing uniform again. It felt strange to see Ohno back in his blue robes again, after seeing him in casual clothing for so long whenever the doctor went to give him a check up back in Amnos.

‘I imagine Nino is probably overwhelmed with Toma’s enthusiasm.’

Jun chuckled. Toma had been ecstatic to finally meet Nino again after years of asking about him. Nino had been bewildered at such an enthusiastic response, and when Ohno said to come back after a few hours—Jun had to do testing and bloodwork—his friend had dragged his lover off to who knows where after he had said he was hungry.

‘Probably. Toma has been wanting to meet Kazu for a really long time.’

‘Makes sense.’

Jun narrowed his eyes at Ohno’s back when the man turned around again to fill some of Jun’s paperwork. He needed to approach the topic of Aiba somehow, without making Ohno defensive and closed off. Ohno told Jun a lot of things, but if Ohno was adamant about not sharing something with him, he wouldn’t.

‘So… Satoshi…’ Jun began carefully, trying to not raise suspicion.

‘Hm?’

‘Are you and Aiba-kun okay…?’

Jun flinched when he felt Ohno raised a part of his mental walls.

‘Satoshi—’

‘I don't want to talk about it,’ he replied in a terse tone. Jun shook his head.

‘You can’t hide it from me,’ he told him, trying to placate Ohno. ‘Satoshi... what happened?’  
Ohno was silent for a long time. Jun didn’t budge, he wasn’t going to give up on this. He refused to let Ohno push him away, especially since the man was definitely not taking the break up well.

‘Satoshi, I just want to help,’ Jun tried again. He flinched when he felt a sharp pang of annoyance coming from Ohno.

‘There’s nothing to help now,’ Ohno replied darkly, turning to him with an annoyed expression. ‘Masaki made it clear he wants nothing to do with me.’

‘What did he say exactly?’ Jun asked carefully, watching his friend’s expression. Ohno scowled at him.

‘He told me that it was best if we broke up because he was transferring to another system, and that we didn’t see each other enough.’ He then looked lost, and Jun really wanted to get up and hug him, but he felt too drained to even move. ‘What did I do wrong, Jun?’ Ohno asked in a small voice.

‘I think… that there must have been some miscommunication between you two.’ Ohno frowned, and Jun continued hastily, ‘I mean, have you guys ever… talked about your relationship? Seriously together?’ He knew a little bit from Nino about the situation between the two, but Jun didn’t want to reveal anything to Ohno yet. He wanted to hear what his friend had to say first.

He watched as Ohno looked down at his hands. ‘We…’ he began hesitantly, ‘we… weren’t really the type. I mean—we talked but…’ He felt a pang of regret from Ohno before it was shut off immediately.

‘But…?’ Jun pressed. He needed to know how Ohno felt.

Ohno shook his head. ‘I guess I was wrong about some things,’ he said quietly.

Jun narrowed his eyes at him. ‘But what did you guys even speak about, in regards to your relationship?’

‘I—’

“Jun?”

Jun snapped his head toward the door. Nino’s head was peeking out from the other side, a frown on his face.

“Kazu!” he said in surprise.

“Sorry, was I interrupting something?” He looked over at Ohno who was busy gathering his things. “I can come back later if you—”

Ohno snapped his binder closed and gave Nino a strained smile. “It’s okay, Nino. I was finished anyway. Jun just needs plenty of rest.” He headed for the door and Nino stepped away to let him pull it open all the way. “You can take him home now.”

Nino blinked as Ohno shook his hand goodbye before leaving the room without another word. When he turned back to his partner, Jun was rubbing his temples with his fingers, scowling quietly to himself.

“Is everything okay?” Nino asked worriedly, walking over to Jun who was still sitting on the bed.

“Yes. No.” Jun grumbled to himself, before shaking his head in exasperation. “Those two…”

Nino chuckled and crossed his arms across his chest, giving Jun a smirk. “You mean Oh-chan and Masaki?”

“Yes. Those two,” Jun grunted in annoyance.

“We’ve done our part,” Nino said, reaching for Jun’s hand, linking them together. “Now we have to let them do theirs.”

Jun sighed and looked down at their intertwined fingers. “That’s the thing,” Jun said, “I’m not sure if they can.”

Nino shrugged. “That's something they have to figure out.”

“We can help them,” Jun pointed out, looking at him. “We've been on the sidelines for too long.” He felt awful about that.

Nino frowned. “Do you really think they'll like that? They're both very independent people, and they've never told us much about their relationship unless we asked.”

Jun sighed in frustration. “I just… I just want to help them.”

“I know, but we shouldn't force ourselves in their relationship,” Nino said. “Let's just let them cool down for a bit before we plan something.”

Jun raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought you said you wanted to help?”

“I do,” Nino said, shaking his head. “But we can't do anything now. Let's just wait a bit.”

Jun sighed in frustration and pulled the covers away. “You're right.”

“Our friends are idiots.”

Jun rolled his eyes, smiling at Nino in amusement. “No, just bad at talking.”

“That too. Now hurry, Toma-kun is waiting for us downstairs.”

 

When Toma dropped them off at Jun’s apartment (not without demanding Jun let him visit once he settled down in his home), Jun was already making a list of things he had to arrange and clean for Nino’s long-term stay.

He hadn't been back on Arashi for months, but his family had helped with some of the cleaning and maintenance of his plants while he was away. Nino placed his bag on the floor and threw himself on the couch with a plop.

“Finally!” he groaned. “I can nap.”

Jun chuckled and sat down at the spot next to him. “Already? You didn’t sleep enough on the ship?” He ran a hand down Nino’s back, tracing the curve of his spine. Nino groaned loudly.

“I’m on solid ground, it’s different,” he mumbled. “Ah… I’m tired.”

“Well,” Jun said in amusement. “Don’t sleep yet. You’ll ruin your sleeping schedule.”

“Ah, right.” Nino groaned before pushing himself up on his knees.

“Come on, let's get settled and then you can sleep.” Jun tugged at Nino’s hand lightly before pulling him off the couch.

“Don't blame me if I suddenly fall asleep!”

 

The next day while they were continuing their cleaning up of Jun’s apartment and getting Nino settled in, Jun received a call from his mother.

“Hello mother,” Jun greeted warmly. At the corner of his eye, Nino began unpacking his clothes slowly as he listened to Jun speak.

“Jun! You came back and never told us!” his mother scolded. He could hear his father laughing in the background.

“Sorry, mother,” Jun replied with a chuckle. He watched as Nino began to stack his shirts in piles by colour. “I got caught up in some things.”

“How are you?” she asked, a hint of worry in her tone.

“I’m good, mother. No need to worry. Kazu takes good care of me.” He smirked when Nino’s face turned pink at the compliment.

His mother gasped. “Kazunari is there too?!”

“Yes, he came back home with me.”

“Then what are you waiting for?!” his mother scolded. “You must meet us as soon as you can!”

“I’ll try,” Jun promised. “But we need to get settled in first before we do anything.”

His mother sighed, and Jun couldn’t help the smile that escaped his lips when he heard it. “Fine,” she grumbled. “But you boys better visit us soon. I want to see how you’re coming along. We miss you!” He could hear his father agree in the background.

“I miss you guys too. I promise I’ll come visit when Kazu and I get things settled here.”

“What is there to do?” his mother asked in curiousity. “You guys sleep in the same room, yes?”

Jun laughed and sent Nino a grin when his lover looked at him in confusion.

“Yes, we do. But we have to get Kazu’s things unpacked. He is staying here for a bit.” Nino nodded in agreement. Jun grinned at him.

“Very well. Do come see us soon, okay? Talk to you boys soon!”

“Bye mother, I’ll speak to you soon.” Jun ended the call and watched as Nino carried his pile of shirts over to the closet.

“So I guess we have to meet Mom and Dad Matsumoto?” Nino asked.

Jun snorted and leaned back against the pillows on the bed. “Yes. And I can’t believe you call them that.”

Nino shrugged and winked at him. “That’s who they are though.”

“Once we finish everything here, we have to go see them,” Jun said after a moment. Nino paused in his task.

“Do they live far?” he asked hesitantly.

Jun frowned. He had forgotten about that—Nino got seasick as well.

Jun had moved to the mainland’s military base in the capital recently since he had gotten promoted a few years ago. He had lived on one of the smaller bases for a long time, but his family had pushed for him to move closer. His parents lived away from the city, in a tiny suburban area several hours away from the capital. The journey was strenuous—it was three hours by water to their town, and another hour by car. It was funny, his parents told him to move closer to family, but only to have them move even further away from him.

“It is a bit far,” Jun admitted hesitantly, “they’ve moved since you last came to visit.”

Nino groaned. “Moved further?”

Jun nodded and sent Nino a pitying look. “It’s going to be at least four hours of travel to get there. We’ll have to stay there for a couple of days or more.”

Nino sighed and grumbled to himself as he resumed hanging up his clothes again. “Can’t be helped.”

“We can suffer together,” Jun said with a chuckle. Nino snapped his head towards his direction and gave him a sharp look.

“You are going to take it easy,” he warned. “I don’t need you fainting on me.”

“I won’t faint,” Jun grumbled. “I’m pregnant.”

“Yes,” Nino deadpanned, “which makes you more prone to fainting spells.”

“That doesn’t correlate.”

Nino narrowed his eyes at him and finished hanging up the last shirt on hand. “Oh-chan told me all of it, okay? Stop trying to act tough.”

“I’m not,” Jun sulked. He watched Nino for a little longer before rolling over on his side in the opposite direction. A moment later, he felt the bed dip a little and a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey,” Nino said gently. “Everything alright? Did I offend you?”

Jun twisted his head to look at Nino quickly before turning forward again. “No.” Truthfully, Jun hated the fact that people were treating him differently because he was pregnant, but he knew he couldn’t fault them for that. He couldn’t be mad that Nino was concerned for his well-being, considering what had happened in the past when he was being careless about his health. He really appreciated their concern, but Jun didn’t want to be coddled. He could take care of himself.

“Are you sure? You’re frowning,” Nino said leaning on Jun’s back to peer over at his face. “If I said something wrong, I’m sorry.”

Jun sighed. Now he felt bad that Nino was feeling bad.

“No, it's nothing. Just me overreacting,” he said sullenly.

Nino snorted and laid down on the bed next to him, spooning him from behind. Jun shifted so that Nino could tangle their legs together.

“Your feelings are always valid,” Nino mumbled into the back of Jun’s shirt. “Tell me.”

Jun was hesitant to say anything. He didn't want to burden Nino with more of his problems, but Nino waited patiently as he took his time figuring out whether or not he should say something. That was the thing he loved and hated about Nino—he would wait for Jun to speak until he was ready. It was both flattering and annoying.

“Jun…?” Nino called quietly behind him. Jun could detect the wary tone in his voice.

“Why do you act like I can’t take care of myself?” Jun finally asked, a few moments after Nino spoke. “I don’t understand that. I mean, I know that I’m pregnant right now, but I’m not weak.”

Nino shifted behind him, and Jun could practically see Nino’s thinking face in his mind.

“This… this bothers you?” Nino asked hesitantly, caution colouring his tone.

“It’s… it’s a little annoying,” Jun admitted sheepishly. “I appreciate your concern, but—” he paused, unsure on how to express what he really wanted to say without hurting his lover’s feelings. He didn't want to seem ungrateful. Nino was quiet as Jun tried to sort out his thoughts. “I just… I guess I find it a little exasperating when people treat me as weak. As if I can't take care of myself.”

Nino snorted and snuggled closer to him. “Weak wouldn't be a word I would use to describe you,” he said in amusement. “No one thinks you're weak.”

“You guys sure make it seem like I can't do anything by myself,” he grumbled. Nino shook his head.

“I guess it's because of the cultural differences. I'm very well aware you could probably still take out people while pregnant. Although… please don't,” Nino added hastily.

“I don't plan to start a fight while I'm pregnant, Kazunari,” Jun retorted with a snort. “But I do wish you guys would stop acting like I can’t take of myself.”

Jun heard Nino sigh and he felt his lover’s hands clutch at his shirt tightly. “I’m sorry I made you feel that way. It still surprises me sometimes…” he mumbled, “how our biologies are so different.”

“I know,” Jun said with a wry smile. “But you guys got to know, I can take care of myself.”

“Usually,” Nino said playfully before pulling away to sit up. Jun turned around so that he was lying on his other side. “I trust you seventy percent of the time to take care of yourself.” He narrowed his eyes at him. “Don’t forget what happened earlier today.”

Jun rolled his eyes. “Minor inconvenience.” He wasn’t going to give Nino any more benefit of doubt.

“Okay,” Nino said, smirking at him. “Whatever you say.”

Jun reached out to pull Nino down on top of him. Sometimes this was the only way he could silence him for a while.

 

A few days after the two of them had gotten settled in Jun’s apartment, they were finally headed for Jun’s parents’ home. Nino did not enjoy the prospect of being stuck in travel for the next several hours, but there wasn’t anything he could do. He had to meet the Matsumoto family, especially since they were his in-laws.

Jun had tried to comfort him when they stepped into the water ship, telling him he should nap for the rest of the trip until they got to land. Nino had grumbled about it being too rocky to even sleep comfortably on a flat surface.

Despite being almost out of it for most of the trip, he watched how they communicated with each other—Nino still found how Arashians interacted fascinating.Nino thought that the silent communication between the Arashians was freaky but really cool. When they turned to him, they always made an attempt to speak to him mentally, but Jun had managed to keep his mental shields up through their deep link. The deep link had helped with the motion sickness (just a little) before Jun released it—Nino didn't want Jun to feel sick himself.

But the one thing that really caught his attention was the stares. Nino didn't miss the glances and stares they received from the other Arashians when they boarded the ship together. At first, Nino was confused on how the others knew, but then he remembered that Arashians had strong senses. They were able to smell Jun’s pregnancy.

_That's pretty creepy,_ he thought to himself when the door to their private cabin opened to reveal a cheerful looking steward.

Nino grumbled when he felt a poke in his mind before letting Jun take over the conversation.

“Kazu, did you want anything to eat or drink?” Jun asked, breaking the silent communication with the female Arashian.

Nino noticed the surprised expression on her face when Jun spoke to him. Shaking his head, he mumbled back tiredly, “No, I'm good. I don't think I can stomach anything right now.”

Jun frowned at him but turned back to the stewardess. Nino pulled the covers over his head. When the door to their cabin finally closed, he let out a grimace.

He wondered if Arashi was open to interracial couples. It hadn't bothered him before, but coming back here and seeing people stare at him and his pregnant partner had been an eye opener for him. When he had visited back then, hardly anyone had bat an eye at them.

_Is it different because Jun is pregnant?_ Nino wondered. It was obvious that he and Jun were together, especially since they tried to do a deep link with each other as much as they could. He pulled the covers down slightly to peek over at Jun. His partner didn’t seem bothered at the stares he got when he was out in public with Nino (he was secretly relieved).

Jun was eating some sort of Arashian snack that Nino didn’t even dare want to try. For some really odd reason, Arashian cuisine was just so… _raw._ Nino didn’t like raw food, even the dishes from back home. There were a lot of things he couldn’t eat here (not that he ate much anyway, to Jun’s dismay). He watched as Jun finished the food before washing it down with a bottle of water.

“Don’t worry,” Jun said, sending Nino a small smile when he was done. “I’ll make something for you to eat when we get to my parents.”

“How much longer is that?” Nino groused, turning on his back to stare at the ceiling of the cabin.

“A few more hours,” Jun replied apologetically. “You should sleep. I’ll wake you when we arrive.” Nino took Jun’s advice and slept.

When they finally reached the town’s harbour, Nino was ready to call it a day. He walked shakily out of the ship, holding onto Jun’s hand tightly. He was tired (despite taking up Jun’s earlier suggestion to sleep), and he was hungry even though he felt nauseous. Jun looked down at him worriedly before looking around for a free cab.

While Jun went to find them a cab, Nino took the time to observe his surroundings. They were standing at the port where most people who entered the town from the capital were gathered at, and Nino’s eyes took in the sight of a foreign place.

It had always amused Nino how quiet Arashi was. Of course, not all Arashians spoke to each other mentally, but it was still quieter than if he was at home in Amnos, where the noise level would definitely be deafening in a place like this.

The people of Arashi looked, dressed, and acted the same as Nino’s own people—they were just quieter. Nino watched in fascination as a mother and a daughter interacted with each other. They were definitely speaking mentally, their facial expressions giving him a hint that they were arguing about something.

Nino continued to look around. Some people were talking to each other verbally (mostly the tourists), while others communicated mentally. He was quite surprised to see a few tourists around since the town his in-laws lived at was quite small.

The trip to Jun’s parents’ wasn’t as bad as he thought it was going to be, but Nino felt that all the energy had been drained out of him. All he wanted to do was sleep in a real bed for the next twelve hours.

He contemplated on going back to sleep but Nino thought that his sleeping schedule was already ruined enough. He tiredly looked outside the car window.

Unlike the colourful scenery of Amnos that he was used to, he was greeted with shades of blue, green, and red. Arashi wasn’t exactly lacking in nature, but it wasn’t as diverse as back home. He smiled when he saw a row of ice trees in the distance. They were still one of his favourite things about the planet.

When they finally pulled up to a nice house in the middle of nowhere (the rural area, Jun said), Nino was beginning to feel nervous. It had been _years_ since he last met Jun’s parents in person, and while they had been accommodating and kind the last time… he wasn’t the same person as he used to be (well, he hoped he had changed for the better at least).

“It’ll be fine,” Jun said, after thanking the driver and joining Nino by the sidewalk. “My parents will be happy to see you after such a long time.” Nino scowled and looked down at their suitcase. Jun had insisted they bring one for the journey—they were planning to stay at his parents’ house for a week.

“Doesn’t mean I’m ready for the reunion,” Nino said sulkily. Jun placed a comforting hand on Nino’s back as they proceeded up the steps to the house.

“Don’t worry so much,” Jun tried to reassure him again. “My parents like you.”

“They like me from the other side of the screen, Jun,” Nino retorted with a shake of his head. “It’s different when it’s face to face.” When they stopped in front of the door, Nino turned to Jun with a worried look on his face. “Okay, I seriously don’t think that—” he was cut off when the door flew open.

“Uncle Jun is here!” a little girl cried out before launching herself at him. “Uncle Jun! Uncle Jun!” Nino noticed that her eyes had the same shade of purple as Jun’s.

Jun laughed and bent down to pick her up to rest her against his hip. “Hello Hana,” he greeted happily, cuddling her close to him before they fell into a mental conversation with Hana giggling every so often. Nino stared at the girl. She looked to be around seven years of age, and she had jet black hair that reminded him of Jun’s own from when they had first met. Her eyes were the same shade of purple as Jun. Nino could see the very vague family resemblance in facial features. Jun chuckled at something she must have said to him before directing her attention towards Nino. Jun looked down at her as he spoke, “This is Ka—Nino. He’s my lover. He’s your uncle too.”

Hana gasped excitedly. “Nice to meet you, Uncle Nino!” she greeted loudly. “Uncle Jun has spoken about you a lot!” She squirmed a little in his grip. “Is it true you don’t speak mentally like us?”

Nino grinned. She was cute. “Yeah, I’m not adept at speaking mentally like you.”

“That’s weird,” Hana said with a frown. “Isn’t it lonely?”

Nino shook his head in amusement. “I like my privacy.”

“That’s strange!”

“Don’t be rude, Hana,” Jun scolded. She giggled and stuck her tongue out at him.

“Hana? Where’s Jun?”

The three of them turned to the newcomer. Nino began to grow nervous again. Jun’s sister blinked as they all turned to her in unison.

“Hey Anzu,” Jun greeted, smiling as he walked up to her.

Anzu took Hana from him and poked Jun on the arm. “You!” she exclaimed, “you should’ve told us you were arriving.” She narrowed her eyes at him when he shrugged in response. Nino stepped forward when he saw Jun gesture at him to come closer from behind.

“It slipped my mind,” Jun replied before turning to Nino. “And Nino wasn’t feeling well.” Nino blinked and looked at Jun in confusion.

_I just assumed you preferred to be called Nino instead of Kazunari,_ Jun told him when Nino let down his mental barriers.

_Oh. I guess?_ Nino didn’t mind being called by his given name, but he thought it was considerate that Jun decided to have everyone call him by his nickname. The culture was different in Arashi anyway.

“Come inside you two! You must be exhausted and hungry!” Anzu called, stepping back to let them through the door. “Food’s ready!”

Jun helped Nino with the luggage as they walked inside. Nino shut the door behind him and was overwhelmed with the noise level of the place. There was loud laughter and talking coming from down the hall.

“Is it normally this loud? I swear it wasn’t the last time,” Nino commented as he turned to Jun in bewilderment.

“I honestly have no idea why there’s so many people today,” Jun said with a frown.

Nino snorted and watched as Jun placed their luggage to the side. “I’m guessing it has to do with… that.” He pointed at his partner’s stomach. Jun patted his stomach, brushing his fingers lightly against the small bump.

“Possibly,” Jun said taking Nino’s hand and pulling him down the hallway.

“Jun!”

An older woman that had a striking resemblance to Jun quickly walked up to them when they arrived at the kitchen. Jun wrapped his free arm around her for a hug, his hand still holding onto Nino’s.

“Hello mother! It’s been a while!” Jun greeted happily.

“You’re finally home! And I can finally see how your pregnancy is going!” his mother scolded, pinching him on the arm before she turned to Nino with a huge grin. “And Nino! How are you dear? You’ve become such a handsome man!”

“Hello mother,” Nino greeted, repeating Jun’s action from earlier and wrapped his free arm around her in a hug. “One of us has to be the handsome one.” He chuckled when he heard Jun snort beside him. “You look young as always.”

“My, my, what a charming man you still are,” she giggled, kissing him on the cheek. “I’m so happy for you two! And I’m getting another grandchild!”

“Stop hogging the boys, Momoe,” a man said as he made his way over to meet them.

“Hi father,” Jun said grinning at him. Nino started to dip into a bow towards the elder Matsumoto, but was immediately pulled into a hug,

_I forgot they were the affectionate types,_ Nino said, returning the hug. Jun chuckled.

“Nino! You grew up!” his father-in-law greeted, patting him on the shoulder. “Come in and eat, guys! You must be starving!”

“I’m famished,” Jun said sheepishly as the walked over to the dining table where Anzu and Hana were already seated with two other people. Nino supposed that was her partner and younger child. The resemblance was uncanny. “Sorry for keeping you guys waiting.”

Dinner proceeded and Nino felt a little overwhelmed about the amount of questions he and Jun were being asked by everyone else. He expected it, but it was still overwhelming to be asked questions about his career, his family, the baby, and his relationship with Jun. Nino had to really remember to use casual Arashian when he was speaking. He was secretly thankful for all the conversations he and Jun had back in Amnos—formal Arashian and casual were very different.

“Have you two thought of a name yet?” his mother-in-law asked, when they finally reached dessert.

“Ah…” Nino said, blinking. He had forgotten about this one cultural difference.

“Not yet,” Jun answered for him, giving his mother a shrug. “We’re going to wait until after the child is born.”

“Why?” Anzu asked in confusion as she fed Chii, her other daughter, some cake.

“But you’re almost due!” his mother gasped, looking at them with wide eyes. “You need a name!”

“I’m sure they have their reasons, dear,” his father-in-law said, smiling at the two of them.

Jun nodded, and Nino felt him brush his leg lightly against his. “Yeah, it’s actually a cultural reason.”

“Cultural?” Anzu’s husband asked as he placed the girl on his lap. Hana looked at them curiously.

“How can a baby not have a name yet?” the little girl asked in astonishment.

“Well, it works differently in Amnos,” Jun explained, grinning at her. “They don’t choose a name for the baby until a month after the birth.”

“Really?” Hana asked in surprise.

“And your mother was panicking all this time,” Jun’s father said with a laugh. “Momoe, I told you it was alright.”

Nino watched in amusement was his mother-in-law pouted at her husband before turning to them. “How am I supposed to know?” She looked relieved at the explanation.

“Why a month?” his father-in-law asked. Nino blinked.

“Ah... well, in Amnosian culture we don’t believe in naming a child until after they’re born because we believe that names should match the personality and demeanor of the child,” Nino explained. “So we usually get acquainted with our child for a month before picking a name.”

“That’s really fascinating,” Anzu remarked, “and you two are choosing to follow Amnosian naming?”

“I didn’t realize that Jun would want to,” Nino said sheepishly. “I was surprised when he suggested it.”

“I thought it made sense,” Jun replied with a shrug. “The baby is half Amnosian too.”

“What about the family name?” Ken asked curiously. “Whose family name will the baby take after?”

“And baby pictures! Do you have any?” Momoe demanded.

Jun laughed and shook his head. “No pictures, sorry mother. Amnosians don’t get ultrasounds like we do.”

“What?!” Anzu and Momoe asked in bewilderment.

Nino watched in amusement as Jun explained. “Amnosians are essentially very private about the baby until it’s born.”

“Amnosians are weird!” Hana commented.

Nino burst into laughter as Anzu scolded her child for the rude outburst. As Jun’s family continued to bombard them with even more questions about Amnosian culture, Nino thought that the baby was very lucky to have such a loving family.

There was definitely nothing to worry about.

 

The rest of the visit went well. Jun and his family took Nino out to see a bit of the Arashian suburbs. Nino had felt a little unsettled with the amount of water in the planet, but the water kept the air smelling clean and fresh, and it rained so much (during the rainy season) that there was enough plants to give the place colour.

“Do you remember the first time I saw the ice trees?” Nino asked, looking up at the tree. They were sitting on a bench at a local park near the house. Jun was feeling annoyed with the family’s constant coddling so he took Nino out of the house with him for some peace and quiet. It had been three days since they had arrived in the small suburban town.

“Yeah, you were really amazed with them.”

Nino chuckled and poked Jun in the arm. “How are you feeling?”

Jun gave him an exasperated look. “I forgot how overwhelming my parents can be. I just want the baby to come already. They keep asking about my apartment.”

“What about it?” Nino reached over to pat Jun on the knee in comfort.

“They're asking if I'm going to move,” Jun explained. “And if I'm planning to stay in Arashi to raise the baby or not.”

“Hmmm…” Right, they hadn't talked about that yet. “Well, they know I'm here for a while after the birth, right?”

Jun nodded and placed his hand over Nino’s, intertwining their fingers together. “Yeah, but my parents were asking about the long term. We haven't exactly talked about that part yet,” he said with a shrug.

“I was just waiting to see what was going to happen before we talked about it,” Nino said truthfully, with a wry smile.

“That's fair,” Jun agreed. “It certainly is a little early to be thinking that far ahead.”

Nino wasn't so sure about that. He had been putting off the topic for a while now, but maybe it was time he began to think about it seriously. He made a mental note to himself to talk to his workplace as soon as he got home from their brief trip.

 

“Nino dear, may I talk to you privately for a second?”

Nino paused on the stairs before turning around. They were set to leave Jun’s parents’ tomorrow morning and all of them had gone out for a nice dinner together. Jun had already headed to bed, citing that he was tired and needed energy for the travel tomorrow.

Momoe looked at him patiently with a smile, ushering him to come down the stairs. Nino walked down the stairs and stopped in front of her.

“Of course, is there anything wrong, mother?” Nino asked in confusion. She shook her head and pulled him by the arm into the kitchen quietly. They sat down beside each other at the dining table. She seemed nervous about something, and that had Nino feeling a little tense. Had he done something wrong? “Is everything alright?” he asked again, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. He watched as she hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.

“I know…” she began slowly with a frown, “that it’s not my place to dictate how you two boys live your lives.” She frowned and looked down at her hands before turning her gaze back to him and continuing. “Have you two discussed what will happen after the baby arrives?” she asked softly.

Nino blinked in surprise. He didn't expect for his mother-in-law to ask him that, thinking that Jun had already dealt with them about this matter.

“I know it's none our business,” she continued hesitantly, “but I…”

Nino shook his head and smiled at his mother-in-law. “No, it's fine.” He pursed his lips. “To be honest with you, I don't really know myself. I told my company before I left that I was going on paternity leave…”

It had been a long and annoying process with a lot of paperwork. Nino didn't think it would be that complicated to file for a paternity leave.

“That's…. six months?” She inquired curiously.

Nino nodded. “Yes, a six months leave.” He looked down at the table in front of him. “We haven't exactly spoken to each other about it yet. I don't…” He turned to face her with a frown. “I don't plan for us to raise the child separately. But there definitely has to be some compromises made.”

Momoe nodded in understanding. “Of course.”

“I think that I could probably work something out and at least stay for a year or two,” Nino mused, “but it's all just up in the air right now. I do think that it's probably best to stay in Arashi for a bit.”

“Why?” she asked in surprise.

Nino chuckled and sent his mother-in-law a sheepish smile. “I feel bad making Jun travel all the time to Amnos. I think it's time for me to be the one to stay.”

“You know he doesn't mind it,” Momoe pointed out with a giggle. “He's always raving about how pretty Amnos is.”

“I know,” Nino said with a knowing grin. “But it's not always fair for Jun to come to me,” he sighed quietly. “He’s been doing it for the past eight years…and we both agreed we wanted to raise the child with the both of us there.”

That was one thing Nino was absolutely positive about: he didn’t want the child to be shipped back and forth between them like that. The child didn’t deserve to live like that because its parents couldn’t get their act together.

He startled from his thoughts when he felt a warm hand on top of his. Blinking, Nino looked over at his mother-in-law.

“Whatever you two boys decide to do, you have our support,” she told him kindly. “And I can move to Amnos for a little bit to help if you need me to—”

Nino shook his head immediately. “No! Mother, I can't ask that of you!” He didn't want to burden his in-laws.

Momoe rolled her eyes. “Nonsense. It's not a big deal for me, Kazunari dear. I don't mind. I’ve raised grandchildren before. And it would be nice to meet your family at last.”

Nino’s eyes widened in horror at the thought. Jun’s parents meeting his in person? He didn’t know how to feel about that. Their families had spoken to each other before, and his mother got along well with Jun’s, but the whole idea was…

Smiling sheepishly, Nino bowed his head. “Thanks for the offer. Let me... sort it out on my own first before we do any moving, eh?” he suggested, trying not to let the panic in his tone show.

She nodded. “Of course! The offer is always open. I don’t think father will mind either.”

Nino beamed. “Thank you,” he said graciously. “Your support means a lot.”

Momoe smiled. “You boys will be fine. Everything will work out.”

Nino really hoped so.

*

“I see, and it would be considered a secondment?”

Jun’s eyes widened at the sound of Nino’s voice from the living room before moving quietly to press his ear against the door.

They had come back home from his parents a couple of days ago. It was nice to see his family after so long, and he hoped that he would be able to see them again after the child was born. He had given his mother the estimated delivery date and he knew his parents would definitely be there for the day.

Jun had been making plans to visit his workplace to see how his team was doing when he received a call from Toma the other day. Nino hadn’t been too enthusiastic at the thought, but Jun didn’t care what Nino thought. Besides, he was just visiting. It wasn’t like he was going to participate in any of the exercises.

When he had woken up this morning to find the bed empty of Nino, he had been puzzled. Nino generally slept in (when he wasn’t working), and he had immediately assumed the worse. But his lover was talking on the phone, and Jun didn’t know any more than that. He stayed quiet as he tried to listen to Nino’s conversation.

“I don’t mind that. At least a year would be good. If I can stretch it to two years that would be better,” Nino continued.

Jun’s eyebrows shot up in bewilderment. Two years? Was Nino talking about wanting to stay in Arashi for that long? They hadn’t talked about it when they came back from his parents, and Nino certainly didn’t make any mention of the idea either. It was the only plausible idea he could think of, especially since Nino was talking about a secondment.

“Yes, I think emailing me the papers would be best. I can hand it in to the embassy here when I’m done. Thank you very much.”

Jun couldn’t help the grin. Nino was actually going to stay in Arashi with him! He had assumed that they would be going back to Amnos after Nino’s leave was over, but his partner was staying for much longer than that—almost three years (well two and a half to be exact). That was more than what he had hoped for.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice the door knob turning, and before he could back away, the door opened and smacked in the face.

“Jun!” Nino gasped, quickly pulling the door back.

“I’m fine!” Jun called out, rubbing his nose and taking a step back to avoid further damage to his face.

“Were you eavesdropping on me?” Nino asked with a chuckle, shaking his head in amusement as he walked inside the room.

“I wasn’t trying to…” Jun muttered, crossing his arms across his chest. “You’re quite loud.”

Nino shrugged and reached out for Jun’s hand and tugged him over to the bed. “We need to talk.”

“Is this about your secondment?” Jun asked curiously, sitting down on the bed. Nino plopped down beside him with a snort.

“So you were eavesdropping!”

“I already told you: you’re quite loud.” Jun crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at his lover.

Nino chuckled and leaned against him, resting his chin on Jun’s shoulder. “Hm mm. Well, since you already know what this conversation is going to be about, yes, it is about the secondment.”

“Your work said yes?” Jun’s heart was beating rapidly in excitement now. Nino nodded, wrapping an arm lazily around Jun’s waist in a loose grip.

“Yep. I have to go to the embassy tomorrow to fill out some papers and you'll hopefully will be seeing my hair for at least the next two years.”

Jun couldn't him the bright grin that appeared on his face. “I don't mind.”

“Don't give me that,” Nino said, grinning back at him with the same excitement. “You'll get tired of me you know?”

Jun leaned down to steal a kiss from him. “Oh, I think I can manage.” Nino was going to live with him! He was hardly able to contain his glee.

“So you're really okay about me staying?” Nino asked worriedly, his fingers digging into the fabric of Jun’s shirt. “I should have asked you earlier but I thought—” he let out a cry of surprise when Jun pushed him down on the bed and straddled his hips.

“Yes!” Jun exclaimed as he pinned Nino’s wrists down on the bed, grinding his hips against his. Nino let out a groan as he pushed up. “I'm more than okay.”

“Good,” Nino replied, a little breathlessly as he squirmed in Jun’s hold. “I wouldn’t want to be an unwelcome addition to the Jun Matsumoto household.”

Jun leaned down to kiss him fully on the lips. “Too late. You already are an addition.”


End file.
